This Rehabbed Albany Park Bungalow Reduces Another $10,000: 4437 N. Christiana
We last chattered about this rehabbed 3-bedroom bungalow at 4437 N. Christiana in Albany Park in July 2012.
See our July chatter here.
Back in July, most of you liked the rehab but weren’t sold on the Albany Park location.
If you remember, it last sold in January 2012 in an estate sale for just $140,000.
The rehabber kept some of its original features like the fireplace and built-ins as well as stained glass which was previously in the dining room.
The floorplan was opened up to suit today’s buyers taste.
2 bedrooms are on the second floor with the third on the main level.
There is also a finished basement which has two more small bedrooms in addition to a family room.
At 3500 square feet, it is on a standard Chicago lot of 25×125 and has a two-car garage.
This house is just a couple of blocks south of the Kedzie Brown Line stop.
It has been reduced another $10,000 since July and has now been reduced $41,000 since June 2012.
Is the only thing preventing a sale of this house the price?
There are $400,000 and $500,000 houses listed just a block north.
Nicoll Garry at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See the pictures here.
4437 N. Christiana: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 3500 square feet, 2 car garage
- No prior sale
- Sold in an estate sale in January 2012 for $140,000
- Originally listed in June 2012 for $420,000
- Reduced
- Was listed in July 2012 at $389,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $379,000
- Taxes of $618
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 17×11 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 17×12 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 11×10 (main floor)
- Bedroom #4: 11×7 (basement)
- Bedroom #5: 8×10 (basement)
Maybe $300k at best. Neighborhood is zero, school is zero. Lipstick Pig. BOONDOGGLE!
I hate how they put the basement sq footage in as liveable. There is no way that house is 3500 sq above grade.
It should sell around $340 given its updated.
The neighborhood is actually quite nice, especially between Montrose and Irving Park.
Very peaceful, pretty side streets and nice neighbors.
“I hate how they put the basement sq footage in as liveable”
1. Virtually all SFHs in the city do so, at least for finished space.
2. Do you feel the same about duplex down condos?
3. At least they didn’t count the garage, or the backyard, and it’s all actual interior space (presumably).
The neighborhood is iffy — a friend of mine lives on this exact block, and some of the houses/condos are nice, and others are not. It was supposed to be on the way up 10 years ago, but I don’t know. Schools are iffy, some crime, lots of multi-generation households. You see a lot of those weird perennial yard sales where people just put out their junk for sale in their front yard all weekend long. It’s close to the brown line, the price is low, but I wouldn’t live there. My friend is really looking forward to moving.
LOVE the taxes. Super low. Don’t know anything abut the area.
“LOVE the taxes. Super low.”
Are you over 65 with an income under $55,000? No? No super low taxes for you!
” It was supposed to be on the way up 10 years ago, but I don’t know.”
Then the bust struck
“lots of multi-generation households”
Yeah those damn elderly and their loud rock n roll music
Agree with poster who said to avoid the neighborhood. I know a person who lives near this place and they say things are pretty iffy and can’t wait to leave. Unfortunately, it’s tough to get people to buy in that area now, due to its reputation.
That said, this house seems nice and so does the street. Just a poor investment.
Well, so much for the “urban pioneer” trend, apparently.
And the upscaling of CPS schools.
Then again, multi-generational households are on the upswing thanks to all those unemployed college grads.
This is one of the areas that ‘should’ gentrify but stopped gentrifying when the bottom dropped out a few years back. It’s going to be a while before gentrification of this area resumes and my kids will already be seniors at Niles South high school. I havent got time to wait.
“the upscaling of CPS schools.”
Larry Kudlow reported on CNBC that CPS teachers make almost twice the average wage of a Chicago resident ($45K), the teachers have low co-pays on benefits, and get a pension!!! CPS spends $12K per HS student, only 50% graduate, so it’s spending $24,000 per year on each graduate. only 15% of 4th graders can read at that level. Yet, incredibly the people of this city are supporting the teachers’ position. It’s called Stockholm snydrome. Nobody wants to attribute/admit innate racial differences and flat-out low IQs to the students poor performance levels either, so this situation is a complete mess. HD made the right choice in getting out of it.
“Larry Kudlow reported on CNBC that CPS teachers make almost twice the average wage of a Chicago resident ($45K), the teachers have low co-pays on benefits, and get a pension!!!”
What about the Lake Forest teachers Dan? No talk about their demands?
Their average salary is $106,500. And I’m sure they have pensions and co-pays and everything else the Chicago public school teachers get. Why would anyone support their positions either?
Although I think this house is cute and I like the area, it’s not a bargain for the area and that’s why it has not sold.
I moved a couple of blocks away from this property recently.
I agree that certain blocks are iffy/dirty/have poorly maintained rentals inhabited by seemingly thousands.
These are mostly closer to Lawrence Avenue.
Then you have other blocks which are fine.
I’m a small-framed woman and I feel perfectly comfortable walking around here by myself late at night.
The neighborhood does not have all the stores and restaurants and trendy stuff which other areas do.
It could really use a Dominick’s or a Jewel.
It does have nice old-timey Chicago feel though.
There are drinkin’ mens dive bars, pool halls, ethnic grocery stores and restaurants, old fashioned signage on the commercial strips…
There are also some attractive bars and restaurants popping up on Irving Park Road.
It’s inevitable that the nicer surrounding neighborhoods like North Park, Irving Park, Lincoln Square, Mayfair and Ravenswood will encroach on this enclave and it will improve over time.
“I moved a couple of blocks away from this property recently.”
Milkster are we/were we neighbors? shoot, should have invited you and the wolfman over for a cookout.
“it’s not a bargain for the area and that’s why it has not sold.”
agreed.
I don’t think anyone is crying for Lake Forest teachers. They’re simply shaking down the 1% for more money. CPS is $700,000,000 in the hole. Yes, $700,000,000. Instead of demanding more money, how about demanding CPS cut the waste, or remove some middlemen administrators, or even enlarge the tax base? The system is a complete mess.
My grandparents moved from Old Irving Park to the NW suburbs in 1962 after my mother finished K at St. Viator. I have her 1962 class picture. I asked my mother why my grandparents moved and she said – ‘Everyone back then knew that CPS provided a terrible education.’ Here we are, 50 years later, and nothing, yes nothing, has changed. 10,000 teachers blocking traffic on lasalle st is not helping their cause either.
Here’s an example of the retro signage of which I speak:
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/QZ10Gt-XhpqkhlCLc2tHkg?select=6FOGv9UjswBLkAVvVjXg_w
I’ll bet that 50% of the kids in CPS are illegitimate/out-of-wedlock. They’ve inherited less than stellar DNA and IQs along with deadbeat dads and welfare moms. That’s the majority of the “testing” problem right there, that nobody will admit. Then we have to deal with the budgetary, union-shakedown issues after that. But with the student population coming from where it comes from, coupled with teachers who demand to be paid twice the average rate of the city’s citizens, plus the budget deficits…one can see that the problem is unsolvable. The liberals, to their credit, don’t want to give in, admit defeat, admit it is honestly hopeless….so they will devise more plans, tests, testing methods, evaluations, curricula, etc. but it cannot turn around something that is-what-it-is.
I love retro signage! Thanks for posting. A lot of good retro signage on Irving Park and Lawrence.
Icarus, thanks for the shout out! Yes, I am in da hood and I just hit you up on your e-mail.
Sabrina, if you are so inclined, maybe we could have a CC meet-up in this area.
The bars have cheap drinks and they are not crowded so there’s lots of room for all of us.
We could wear name tags with our CC names.
Whaddya think? 🙂
That Marie’s sign is really something! I groan every time I drive past.
There’s a crazy cat man (and his grown-up kids) who lives on the east side of this block whose yard is overrun with strays (and they put artificial flowers in their flower boxes). One upside = fewer rats!
helmet, you’re right, I’d bet the majority of CPS students are out of wedlock, and there is a serious problem with deadbeat dads in this country. out of wedlock, absent fathers, low income, etc…it’s all socio-economic which said I before, is the best indicator of someone’s IQ, future prospects and other academic performance. My cleaning lady in my office building is exactly the same age as me. She is an illegal, she has three children from 2 different men, one of whom is in prison right now, the other is marginally employed, they’re crammed into a tiny apt on the northside. She speaks both english and spanish poorly and her children attend CPS, they get the WIC card and probably other assistance. Young son is 5 or 6 and has asthma already which is awful. Nice lady though, on a personal level she’s great, but the bigger picture is that she’s the new face of America and here in IL we’re staring into the financial abyss. ANd when her children vote, they’re not going to be voting for the same people I’d vote for and they’re going to in the figurative sense put our heads to the guillotine.
I think big city school districts are at an inherent disadvantage compared to suburban districts due to the wide socioeconomic disparity of students in cities that a suburban districts do not have. For example, district 214 is a “rich” district where the entire district is focused on attracting/retaining the best and brightest teachers available who will get their students into Ivy League schools. A district in say, Chicago Heights, is a “poor” district where schools are focused on getting teachers that will just allow them to keep their state/federal funding. Coming up with a one-size-fits-all solution gets more difficult the wider your definition of “all” is. For this reason, I wonder if it wouldn’t make sense to split CPS into two districts, say north side and south side. I know this will never work because the masses will cry foul over it being racist, but I wonder if both sides would be better off in the end.
Shorter Helmet:
When deciding what members of a given profession should be paid, it is important to limit it to a certain multiple of the median wage. If your profession brings you in contact with subhumans, that multiple is 1. (Exceptions made if your job is liquidating subhumans.)
Bonus drollery: Larry Kudlow reports things.
“I love retro signage! Thanks for posting. A lot of good retro signage on Irving Park and Lawrence.”
check out the laundromat/cleaners on Higgins and Austin the whole building i swear is original 1959.
“For this reason, I wonder if it wouldn’t make sense to split CPS into two districts, say north side and south side. I know this will never work because the masses will cry foul over it being racist, but I wonder if both sides would be better off in the end.”
Wow. The ignorance on this site about the city is astounding.
Take the #1 Elementary School in Chicago (according to Chicago Magazine): Decatur Classical in West Ridge. White students are in the minority.
Decatur: 17.7% low income.
White: 39.2%
Black: 9.5%
Hispanic: 16.6%
Asian: 24%
White students are also not the majority at the #2 Ranked school, also on the north side, Edison Elementary in Albany Park.
And what about all those parents ready to buy a 2/2 condo in Blaine just to get their kid into that school district? (ranks #13 in Chicago Magazine)
Blaine: 22.3% low income
White: 53.1%
Black: 4.6%
Hispanic: 30.6%
Asian: 4.5%
Looks pretty diverse to me.
Education has to do with resources, parental involvement and the teachers. Look at Urban Prep Academy. It’s an all African-American male charter school on the south side. Sure, a lot of the students drop out of the program by senior year. But of those who have stayed, they have a 100% success rate getting them into college. They have also successfully gotten students into Ivy League schools (Cornell and Dartmouth) from Englewood! What a life changer. And of those who have graduated, over 80% continued on to their second year of college (as there was criticism that the school only gets them into college but then abandons them.)
“Decatur Classical”
test in school which is also weight by priority tiers. Tiers are designed by income level, so a low income tier student with average test scorer will get a spot before a high income perfect test scorer.
this by design takes kids from all over chicago. and takes THE BEST KIDS from all over chicago
“Edison Elementary”
Is a gifted, yes GIFTED as in the next genius to unravel the god particle or the dna strand for cancer. this also takes THE VERY BEST from all ends of chicago. BTW it just moved there a few years ago, previously the gifted program was in edison park on the NW side
“Urban Prep Academy”
another that takes the best from the austin and englewood area and weeds out the underperformers. They are agenda based as they need to show a working system not only in chicago but must showcase a superior idea on a national level. Given i like the concept a lot, but personally the agenda and the microscope they are put under causes a biased pool of student they “choose”. and by weeding out the weak performers they go against the concept the school is based on.
“I wonder if it wouldn’t make sense to split CPS into two districts”
I have always argued that CPS could function better if split into 5 districts NW, S, N, W, SW. all 5 districts will receive the same funding. Maybe a 6th district that would handle gifted and magnet but i throw that idea out as it would be the most corrupt.
now back to the charter school concept. you may think this idea works try doing in on larger scale like 50% of chicago’s schools and you will see it will end up the same as the school system you see right now.
for the teachers strike. guess what? its not about the kids at all. its CPS’s agenda of cutting cost and lengthening the school, its the teachers union agenda to show strength and secure their jobs and raises in the future.
nowhere is there really anything of substance on either side of improving your kids education.
okay soapbox over
Groove: I never said that the “top” schools weren’t magnets where you had to test in. But people on this site just think it’s “north” (i.e. “white”) versus “south” (i.e. “african american”) and that’s the difference!
The fifth best school in Chicago, Poe Classical, is in Pullman. 93.8% african american. 47.4% low income. Are parents from Lincoln Park sending their kids there even though it’s a magnet? I doubt it. But somehow the school is attracting talented kids.
Urban Prep is self-selecting. If you can’t cut it- you leave the school (that’s why half drop out of the program from freshman to senior year- it’s not easy!) But you can’t say it’s not doing something right. It is 83% low income. The odds against those kids are just tremendous. If they go to ANY college they are doing something right. But they’re getting 80+ students into college a year.
I’m not arguing what works and what doesn’t. CPS is huge. Yeah- maybe you can’t run an education system with 400,000 students. I’m just saying those who think that splitting it up “north” v. “south”- because that would separate it across racial lines (and race is the problem)- isn’t really arguing the correct argument.
Homedelete is closer to reality when he says its economic- NOT racial. People should read Jonathan Kozol’s Savage Inequalities even though it’s 20 years old. Little has changed in education in that period (sadly.)
Oh- no discussion of Blaine? That’s a neighborhood school. It’s not overwhelmingly white. Far from it.
“Homedelete is closer to reality when he says its economic- NOT racial. People should read Jonathan Kozol’s Savage Inequalities even though it’s 20 years old. Little has changed in education in that period (sadly.)”
Nonsense. Denial. If Liberal Jews like Kozol were honest, which they aren’t…and so smart, they would’ve provided us some solutions, which they haven’t and won’t no matter how much money they throw at it. The USA has thrown BILLIONS at the issue of reducing inequity based on race, and it never works ever. Nor will it. Blacks and Hispanics will on average test lower than Whites, Asians and Jews. It’s just an IQ thing based on DNA. They’ve already tried everything in California, and it never works.
“helmet, you’re right, I’d bet the majority of CPS students are out of wedlock, and there is a serious problem with deadbeat dads in this country. out of wedlock, absent fathers, low income, etc…it’s all socio-economic.”
Did you ever stop to think that someone that is on welfare, a deadbeat, a criminal, or has multiple bastard/illegit children, etc. does these things because they are stupid and has a low IQ? Duh.
Maybe their situations are caused by their stupidity. What about all the NFL athletes that end up bankrupt? Don’t say they didn’t have equal opportunity.
I’m done. Deniers will cling to their denial, I’m aware of that.
“Oh- no discussion of Blaine? That’s a neighborhood school. It’s not overwhelmingly white. Far from it.”
Whats the racial breakdown in K-4? Coonley was like 80% chicano 6 years ago, but is now about half white.
Good point – we noticed the same thing at Audubon. Hoping our school stays diverse, we’re liking it so far, but it’s only recently hit that “turned around” status in the hood.
“Whats the racial breakdown in K-4? Coonley was like 80% chicano 6 years ago, but is now about half white.”
“The fifth best school in Chicago, Poe Classical, is in Pullman. 93.8% african american. 47.4% low income. Are parents from Lincoln Park sending their kids there even though it’s a magnet? I doubt it. But somehow the school is attracting talented kids.”
But Poe takes the best from pulman and the surrounding hoods, the the parents of the kids that go to POE went above and beyond to get their kids in there and not in the local school. Which that involvement would translate to that kid doing better than average at any school.
“Urban Prep is self-selecting. But you can’t say it’s not doing something right. It is 83% low income. The odds against those kids are just tremendous.”
Agreed it is doing something right, but again that is using the top students and not the weeded out students. Thats the point i am getting at, its PUBLIC education and it should be able to teach ALL the students just not the TOP. to say hey we took the *smartest and *hardest working 83% low income kids and got them to graduate, yeah give us a high five.
No that you job, no cookie for you. when you take the f-up’s that drop out or are average and turn them into college bound kids then i will toss you a gold star.
its never a race thing its always a socio-economical thing. thats why I was 100% on board with the tier based CPS idea it takes race and politics out of the equation. now how they implemented the tier system is another story which show the ineptness of the CPS management to to take a great idea and then half arse the implementation and change the premise of it.
My belief on CPS failings is not the facilities, the old books, the “make it to retirement” teachers, its always been the class size. teachers are turned into baby sitters and have a hard time controlling 35-40 KIDS yes kids not adults. watch how long it takes a teacher to settle down a HS class once the walk in the door. its only a ~45 minute class and if you spend 10-15minutes getting the class to settle its insane.
with the young kids guess what a 6th grade class of 35 brats the teacher has only some time and strenght and will only teach too the bottom of the class and the upper middle. if your anywhere other than that you are lost in the shuffle and passed up to the next grade if you know the stuff well or not.
Dont get me started on the fear that pricipals and teacher have now with the testing. the kids are not being TAUGHT anymore they are being prepped for a specific test. so that the school can get funding and everyone will be happy. Take standardize testing out of the picture and let the good teachers do what they do and you will end up with a smarter and better society.
“its always been the class size.”
So, who gets the boot from the “good” school and has to go to the “bad” school? Not enough classrooms or money to split that 35 into two classes of 18&17 in the same building, so the only way to get to 28 is to kick 7 kids into another school.
You do also realize that many of the “worst” schools have small class sizes, and that is the biggest reason they are under threat of being closed.
“You do also realize that many of the “worst” schools have small class sizes, and that is the biggest reason they are under threat of being closed.”
yes and also oriole park a top 10 public neighborhood school as class sizes 40 and over also discredits my theory
“oriole park a top 10 public neighborhood school as class sizes 40 and over”
And, to get class size down, they either need to redline 40% of the kids out of the attendance area, or basically double the size of the school building (at a cost of prob $30mm). Not great alternatives.
“You do also realize that many of the “worst” schools have small class sizes, and that is the biggest reason they are under threat of being closed.”
Nice quote: You do realize that not every sub-prime mortgage led to forclosure too, right.
http://www.redeyechicago.com/news/markley/redeye-how-chicagos-teacher-strike-explains-the-education-derevolution-20120911,0,5720944.story
“And, to get class size down, they either need to redline 40% of the kids out of the attendance area, or basically double the size of the school building (at a cost of prob $30mm). ”
actually for oriole, once the gifted program left the edison park building, they were allowing oriole attendance area kids go to that school. How much effect did it have we will know in a few years.
If my kid was a bit older it we could have go a spot in edison park and not be in the district.
but yes lowering class sizes on a pull kids out of the classroom is a logistical nightmare.
but adding teachers per class is a simple solution and not as costly. yes the class size theoretically be that same but the teachers per pupil will drop and a more focus learning and an more individualized learning will take place. you will catch more kids that would usually slip through the cracks. kids like i was that have a learning disability would get caught early.
all of it is a pricey solution and would call for way higher taxes, but when you look at it families are already fleeing to the burbs for school and seem to be willing to pay high taxes for great schools.
the lengths and angst many have to go through to get their kids a quality education in CPS is becoming crazier and crazier.
and the weight on standardized tests (i fall for the trap too) is not the metric of an education.
CPS is too big to appease all, it needs to be broken into smaller sections, we need to throw out all these administrators draining resources and we need to get rid of union teachers and get to the basic of it all.
i have talked with a few friends and kind of came to the idea if we all pool our money and hire a private teacher for 5 kids roughly the same age we can “home (tutor) school” them.
yes that really becomes private non sanction school at the essence of it. but in the end the saving are huge and the output is beyond anything *available
Icarus: Not sure what you’re getting at. I used enough wesal in that that it shouldn’t be clear which side I’m on.
Do enjoy that we, as a city, apparently have a slush fund for Tagged Image File Format. People that don’t even know what TIF stands for probably should *not* be getting paid to write about it in any way shape or form.
“adding teachers per class is a simple solution and not as costly”
What a half a teacher per class? so that you have “26” kids per teacher in a clas of 39, but it’s still a class of 39? Hate it.
@tfo – being a DINK with kids on the near horizon, I don’t have a dog in that fight…YET. i’m just saying that for an article written by the “C average student in comm class” it did bring up some good points.
Not to defend TIFF versus TIF but even the New York Times leaves the press with some errors.
“Not to defend TIFF versus TIF but even the New York Times leaves the press with some errors”
It’s a very common misuse in Chicago, and very few who talk/write about TIFs (ChiReader folks are an exception) understand the basic property tax structure, nevermind the TIF stuff. They all cite to Joravsky, who correctly points out (repeatedly) that the adminstration of TIF in Chicago is (or at least has been) corrupt, without digesting the underlying structure.
btw, I think that Rahm is intending to yank a *huge* piece of the CPS TIF tax back from the TIFs as part of the cure for CPS deficit next year. No inside info of any sort, just seems like other CPS-related decisions point toward that being used to “show Rahm’s (and the biz community’s) commitment” to Chicago schools. But he cannot let that leak out until there’s a new contract, bc otherwise CTU says “spend it on staff”, when the point would be to spend it on durables–new and upgraded buildings, new equipment, etc, etc. (as has been done with 100s of millions over the years).
“i’m just saying that for an article written by the “C average student in comm class” it did bring up some good points.”
Markley will have you know that he was phi beta kappa and magna cum laude, and that he name checked george akerlof in correct context in the article.
Is it ok to say “name check”? My wife used the phrase last night. I was dubious about propriety but she swears it’s fine. I think Markley would be ok w it.
“I think that Rahm is intending to yank a *huge* piece of the CPS TIF tax back from the TIFs as part of the cure for CPS deficit next year. No inside info of any sort, just seems like other CPS-related decisions point toward that being used to “show Rahm’s (and the biz community’s) commitment” to Chicago schools. But he cannot let that leak out until there’s a new contract, bc otherwise CTU says “spend it on staff”, when the point would be to spend it on durables–new and upgraded buildings, new equipment, etc, etc. (as has been done with 100s of millions over the years).”
i think you on to something here. drain the reserves to say “look this is all we got” then contract in place say surprise we can use this (tif) for the stuff I want that union leaches would have *stole
if this is the angle he is going, i like it. he may win a vote from me next time around. (Hahaha i laughed as i typed that last sentence)
“he may win a vote from me next time around.”
Who do you think will run against him? Karen Lewis?
“Who do you think will run against him?”
when he takes a few more beatings from the other unions over the next few years. it will no be a matter of who is running against him it will who will be running for rahms vacant position.
IIRC its teachers, then next firefighters, drawing a blank for this spot, then there will be some pesion reform *trying to go on throughout Illinois, then cops are up.