What Will You Pay for a Rehabbed Brick House in East Humboldt Park? 849 N. Francisco
This 3-bedroom single family home at 849 N. Francisco in the East Humboldt Park neighborhood of West Town just came on the market.
I don’t have a picture of this house but I thought we should chatter about it.
Built in 1885, on a standard 25×125 lot, it has a 2-car garage.
This is a brick house that the listing says had a “complete rehab” in 2012.
The listing says it has a new kitchen, baths, copper pipes, electricity, windows, roof and new sewer line.
The kitchen has dark brown cabinets, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.
There’s hardwood floors on the main level as well.
There’s one bedroom on the main level and two bedrooms on the second level, along with a den.
There’s a Jack-n-Jill bathroom on the second level with a double sink vanity.
There’s a basement but the listing says it’s “good for storage.”
The house has central air.
It sold in October 2012 for $243,000. That was near the bottom of the housing bust.
In 2018, it has come back on the market for $449,000.
Are you going to pay over $400,000 for a rehabbed single family home in this neighborhood now?
Arden Fowler at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See the pictures here.
849 N. Francisco: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage
- Sold in July 1991 for $42,000
- Sold in May 1998 for $106,000
- Sold in June 2004 for $210,000
- Sold in May 2012 for $90,000 (bank owned)
- Sold in October 2012 for $243,000
- Currently listed for $449,000
- 2-car garage
- Taxes of $3863
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 16×15 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 14×12 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 14×17 (main floor)
- Den: 14×7 (second floor)
from the listing – “Top floor with two bedrooms, office / den landing AKA the” Hot Dog Room””
I actually googled “Hot Dog Room” thinking it was some real estate term i never heard of then looked at the pics and it’s just an area of the upstairs with hot dog wallpaper and art.
Why even mention this in the listing.
Nice enough house but, personally, I still wouldn’t live in this area.
“Basement is suitable for storage” = ceilings are probably 5ft high and nothing was done to improve it.
I wouldn’t buy this house for any amount period as I have personal understanding of the value that EHP offers yet I know of many millennial acquaintances (not all hipsters, surprisingly) who live and a few that have bought there. It’s a complete transportation desert and it always looks incredibly depressing and trashy every time I drive through it. I’m open to being enlightened though. I would just never live there, personally.
^have no* personal understanding.
I know it isn’t quite as close in and taxes a bit higher, but why not just move to Oak Park at this price point? You can basically get a similar house and have good schools and public transportation.
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/804-Wisconsin-Ave_Oak-Park_IL_60304_M71416-80136#photo25
What’s with the roofline of the addition? That looks like a disaster waiting to happen! Not only the radically different pitch and eave height, but one side of the roof has a soffit, and the other doesn’t. Bizarre!
Not $449,000
Russ – nice ice dams. Is that a selling point?
the whole cockeyedness of the roof line would drive me mad
well that and the really short ceilings (im very tall)
and the general ghettoness of the area
sorry i would not pay this to live here
Although the proximity to Taco Jalisciense would be nice, their el pastor is so good!
This place is adorable and I love that these worker cottages are being renovated rather than demolished for ugly condo buildings, but there hasn’t been any additional work since the (nice, but rather pedestrian) 2012 reno. Not sure the rising value in the area merits a $200k price differential over 6 years, but maybe the market will prove me wrong.
“Although the proximity to Taco Jalisciense would be nice, their el pastor is so good”
That statement reminded me of something that Groove77 would have shared. Im infrequent guest and come and go with my CC postings and viewings based on how busy I am on a given moment. It has been a while since I’ve seen him comment.
Anyone know what happened to the Groove man? Did he drop dead of a heart attack on the BB court with Helmethofer? Perhaps he got a new boss that started to monitor his internet usage. Maybe he moved companies and is now employed by c company where they expect him to actually perform work. Why does the Groove not make time for CC distractions?
Anyone have an update?
I like this house and I like this area of EH more so than the area between Augusta and North Ave which IMHO has way too much public housing and shootings. It is a bit of a transit dessert but there is a Metra stop 3/4 mile away. If you drive to work anywhere on the west or northwest sides its probably fine and the former industrial corridor stretching west along Fulton, Carol, Lake is turning into quite the 21st century mixed use / employment district which is an easy walk from here. I think with properties like this you have to look big picture, that anything within a 3 mile radius of the Loop is eventually going to be highly desirable, it’s just the natural progression. How long is anybodies guess but this area is nowhere near as bad as it used to be or particularly dangerous. Sub 500K for your own 4 walls and yard inside a 3 mile radius of the Loop seems reasonable.
I love these types of SFHs. I wouldn’t personally live at that location in my current situation but my guess is the price is not that far from market.
I could see a younger guy, like a 28 year old lawyer buying something like this and getting a guy roommate. It’s a good condo alternative. It becomes a little party house for a few years because it’s easy parking and noise isn’t an issue. Eventually, the 28 year old is 34, gets married and he and Mrs. live there a year or so until the baby comes. I think it would be an ok investment.
“Anyone know what happened to the Groove man?”
Icky? You know anything?
“he and Mrs. live there a year or so until the baby comes. I think it would be an ok investment.”
This x 1000. Look at the area just opposite this, Smith Park or across Western, in the late 90s it was pretty dicey, people were rehabbing and doing tear downs but others thought they were insane. Fast forward 15 years and SFHs on Erie are selling for $1,000,000
This is kinda close to Norwegian American Hospital. I’ve heard a few recent stories about high crime in the area, mostly to the west of the hospital. But that’s not far from this home. That would concern me.
I agree about this being a transportation desert. For people with cars, you’re far from the expressways. Going anywhere is going to take a lot of time. I would rather live in East Garfield Park and be near the expressway.
This neighborhood is probably going to become trendy in the next few years, so this house might be a good investment. You can rent it out or AirBnB it once you’re ready to move.
For transportation , you have the Chicago Ave. bus which will eventually get you to the Near North Side eventually downtown, or you can connect with the Blue Line subway.
“Anyone know what happened to the Groove man?”
Icky? You know anything?
Rumor has it on moonlit evenings you can see his shadowy figure near auto part stores, looking for someone to fight.
I think it’s hard to call this a transportation desert when it’s within 1 block of the Chicago and Grand Avenue buses that go right to River North and Streeterville and straight to eponymously named Blue Line stations. The California bus is there to take you up to Logan Square and its Blue Line station to O’Hare.
There’s also a bunch of restaurants and bars on California at Augusta less than 4 blocks away.
oh yeah catching the grand or chicago bus here, thats a fun way to spend 40-60 minutes a day commuting
No one likes buses though, Steven.
Sonies –
I think El Taco Feliz in Portage Park is the BEST in the city and maybe even THE WHOLE WORLD:
https://www.yelp.com/biz/el-taco-feliz-taqueria-chicago?osq=taco+feliz
They don’t have tables – just a counter.