Cool Portage Park Bungalow Still Available: 5501 W. Cullom
Not all bungalows are created the same. This 4-bedroom house at 5501 W. Cullom in Portage Park certainly takes bungalow living to a new level.
We last chattered about it in September 2009. See our prior chatter and pictures here.
Built in 1926, it has a 1950s lounge in the lower level, a wine cellar and a walk-in meat smoker which apparently still works.
The vintage wood work is still in place as well as the stained glass.
You can’t build them like this anymore (at least at this price, anyway.)
It has been reduced $115,000 since July 2009.
Heather Lange at Koenig & Strey still has the listing. See more pictures here.
5501 W. Cullom: 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2.5 car garage, 3500 square feet
- Sold in January 1995 for $293,000
- Sold in December 2002 for $525,000
- Was listed in July 2009 for $750,000
- Reduced
- Was listed in September 2009 at $650,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $635,000
- Taxes of $5001
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 15×13
- Bedroom #2: 14×12
- Bedroom #3: 10×10
- Bedroom #4: 12×9
The link wasn’t working for me. Try this if you are having the same problem:
http://www.ksgmac.com/real-estate/SearchDetail.cfm?PageNum_Search=1&State=IL&city=&propertytype=House&beds=0&baths=0&pricelow=635000&pricehigh=635000&btn_submit=Search
Funky place. Not sure how I feel about the price. It is cool tho.
I like this place – but I think living here would drive someone crazy just like the Shining.
I’m confused; are photos 7 & 8 both of the same basement?
Looks like it’s been well preserved, but I’d prefer pics of the baths and kitchen over the bar and the playroom in the basement.
They’re probably finally closer to a reasonable list price, but I’m thinking it won’t sell over $600k.
At first glance I thought “meh…overpriced bungalow”…but wow, that place is class. I love old school pre-1950 vintage stuff, and this has it in spades. Still probably a bit overpriced, but I’m in awe of the interior.
A “walk-in meat smoker”? Do you herd an full-grown cow inside of it.
There’s no way this will sell in the $600’s. It was only $525k in 2002 during the bubble. It was less than $300k in the mid-1990’s. This is an off neighborhood not even near the el. There is no reason this property should have any appreciation since the 2002 price. Consider the fact that most property nationwide is returning to nominal pre-bubble pricing this home should be selling in the $300’s or the $400’s.
And if this bungalow, arguably one of the nicest on the block, if not the neighborhood, is only worth the $300’s or the $400’s, that tells you that the regular Chicago bungalows should be selling in the 100’s or $200’s.
using an “appreciation calculator”, it looks like the current list is a 2.75% annual appreciation. That would be reasonable if the market were “normal”, but this may languish til spring.
Bring it down to 2% annual, at around $605k and it’ll go.
The house in Bucktown on Lyndale had zero appreciation from ’05 and that’s in a better area with higher incomed individuals so, for argument’s sake, I don’t think they deserve any appreciation from ’05 forward, so, give them two years appreciation (this was a 12/02 purchase) for ’03 and ’04; so 2% for two years appreciation puts this home at $546,210. Do you think this house is worth half a million dollars in Portage Park? Have you ever been to Portage Park? Have you ever been in Portage Park on Irving Road? Other than the portage park animal hospital there isn’t amenity of importance or significance. When this house was built the neighborhood was a suburb and had park and trolley line down irving; but this house is a relic of times past. It’s in nice condition yes but I have my doubts about it being worth half a million dollars. Of course I’m sometimes wrong about properties but I’m going with my gut, for whatever that is worht.
“animal hospital there isn’t amenity of importance or significance”
I will differ on that HD,
*Las Tables is a great columbian restaurant with dinner and dancing.
*when i was chasing skirts Club Euro (as wack as it is) had some great eastern european eye candy (may have changed since then.
*i think hops and barley is walking distance (a quiet nice tree lined walk too)
*Sabitino’s is down the street
*Ymca and Bally’s down the street
*crafty beaver (its a hardware store you pervs)
*dairy queen (some good summer ice cream spot)
*Rudy’s Cycles (i have bought two bikes from them great customer service)
*McNammera’s (eat outside on the patio/curb to get all the smog and street gunk on your food)
*i remember some taco joints on milwaukee (i left hops and barley drunk and hungry)
*and the best of all the costume shop on milwaukee!!!!!!!!!!!
HD I think the people put a lot of $$$ into fixing up this place nice, but still over half a million for a bungalow in portage frickin park (where 4/2’s are selling for 225k) is a pretty bad joke.
“I will differ on that HD:”
*Las Tables is a great columbian restaurant with dinner and dancing.
– Never been there, don’t really care, latin american food is everywhere in the city.
*when i was chasing skirts Club Euro (as wack as it is) had some
great eastern european eye candy (may have changed since then.
-Very few if any cribchatters other than you will be ‘chasing tail’ at Club Euro (next to the animal hospital)
*i think hops and barley is walking distance (a quiet nice tree lined walk too)
-Is that Milwaukee and montrose? Aren’t irish pubs a dime a dozen in this city?
*Sabitino’s is down the street
– Old Irving Park, not Portage Park
*Ymca and Bally’s down the street
– Again, Old Irving Park, not Portage Park
*crafty beaver (its a hardware store you pervs)
– who cares?
*dairy queen (some good summer ice cream spot)
– Again, who cares?
*Rudy’s Cycles (i have bought two bikes from them great customer service)
– Its just a tiny neighborhood bike store, nothing special.
*McNammera’s (eat outside on the patio/curb to get all the smog and street gunk on your food)
– Old Irving Park and on the otherside of the Crosstown Freeway
*i remember some taco joints on milwaukee (i left hops and barley drunk and hungry)
– So what.
*and the best of all the costume shop on milwaukee!!!!!!!!!!!
– and the line out the door the weekend before halloween. The rest of that intersection is blighted as all hell. Half the stores are vacant or underutilized.
None of the above makes this home worth more than $500k. Even during the bubble times of 12/02 this home barely broke into the $500’s. It’s headed back below that, long term, with no appreciation, and you can watch this owner chase the market down.
“None of the above makes this home worth more than $500k.”
never said it is at all worth that cost unless you drive a 69 Cadillac convertible.
just stating the amenities that you say are lacking. And every place i mentioned and you knocked down can be said by any place in the city. Yeah all of them are not great, but you have options, and since you need a car in this area, close amenities are a MOOT point (see i used it correctly there)
and dont knock that dairy queen and the ghetto service there. my aunt would take me there when i was a teen. i go back once every summer.
I dunno… it’s a lot bigger than most bungalows up there. Looking at the photos, there’s no yard, though. So it’s like $180/sq.ft. if they’re not cheating the sq. footage too much.
I’m not big on Portage Park, other than it’s where my dad grew up. Guess I’ve just got a soft spot for that area, that may be unrealistic?
I think I said before these folks are a bit insane on their price. This is probably the nicest house I’ve ever seen in Portage Park, it’s beautiful, and that’s not a good thing in this case. You can go to Old Irving or up to Sauganash or Edison Park and get a pretty nice house with a huge yard for this price, with a better neighborhood, school district, and public transit options (Metra-wise). Those may not have all the unique vintage features this one does, but nowadays, people are more about a good value in a good neighborhood, not about what the house looks like. This is a house that one would buy as an emotional purchase because they fall in love with the house itself. The days of an emotional purchase, for the most part, are over.
That being said, I think Portage Park is a nice neighborhood if you want to buy a reasonably priced (under 350k) single family home. There’s lots of decent bungalows to be had for under 300k even. North of Irving, south of Montrose, west of Milwaukee and east of Central (basically the few blocks surrounding the actual park) is a great area. I wouldn’t touch a house south or west of here though.
“using an “appreciation calculator”, it looks like the current list is a 2.75% annual appreciation. That would be reasonable if the market were “normal”, but this may languish til spring.”
You’re using the wrong base price, LS. If you use the 1995 price, and add 2.75% per year for 15 years, you get $440k. And at $440k (hell, maybe $475k), I could see having the nicest house on the block in PP. Because you’re paying ~2x for the nicer, bigger house. But 3x is *crazy*.