30 Months Later and This 3-Bedroom in Old Town Is Still in Distress: 1542 N. Hudson
We last chattered about this 3-bedroom duplex down at 1542 N. Hudson in Old Town all the way back in November 2009.
See our prior chatter here.
But the unit has been on the market even longer- since May 2009- for a total of 30 months.
It has been listed as a short sale for that entire time.
The lis pendens foreclosure was filed in December 2009- so it has been almost 2 years of waiting for the bank to take possession.
Located directly next to the Brown/Purple Line El tracks, no one seems to know what this property is “worth” as it is currently listed at $175,000 but was listed as low as $149,000 last April, before the price was actually raised.
This is the lower level unit of a 2-unit building. The top floor unit, a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, is also in short sale listed at $155,000.
There is currently no condo association.
If you recall, this unit doesn’t have just one parking space it has two.
The unit has hardwood throughout and the kitchen has stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.
It’s also a rare 3 bedroom 3 bath unit (as usually they are 3/2.)
From the listing, it appears that the living room and kitchen are both on the lower level (along with one of the bedrooms) and the other two bedrooms are on the main level.
What will become of this unit (and building)?
Kathleen Krist-Krueger at Kirst-Krueger Realty now has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #1: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, no square footage listed, 2 car parking
- Sold in April 2006 for $550,000
- Originally listed in June 2009
- Listed in August 2009 for $375,000
- Lis pendens foreclosure filed in December 2009
- Reduced numerous times
- Was listed in April 2011 for $149,000
- Increased $50,000
- Reduced again
- Currently listed at $175,000
- No assessment- because no association
- Taxes of $8368
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer hook-ups in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 15×15 (main level)
- Bedroom #2: 15×15 (main level)
- Bedroom #3: 12×15 (lower level)
- Living room: 18×20 (lower level)
- Kitchen: 7×15 (lower level)
yikes! This is a disaster.
The description for the other unit is the bleakest I’ve ever seen:
“Currently in foreclosure. Unit 2 of a 2 unit building. Both units maybe in foreclosure process. Sold as is. This is a short sale. There is no association any longer. Near Sedwick Brown Line Station.”
You could buy both units pretty cheap, slap on some new siding and whalla you have a nice place in the OT>
Wow. Almost right on the tracks.
HD, makes sense.
I’m not sure what’s worse, its proximity to North Ave or the tracks.
It’s hard for me to see how you wouldnt be able to make money buy buying both units, deconverting it back into one PIN, then holding on to the building as a rental. Even at list price this seems like it would be a no brainer.
They shoot horses don’t they
It’s hideous from the outside. It looks like it belongs in the middle of the woods in Montana.
I agree Wilson, but as someone said it’s so cheap you can rent this shitbox out and make money.
If I could finance 80% of the purchase price I would buy both units at list.
The picture on the other listing shows how close this building is to the tracks.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1542-N-Hudson-Ave-60610/unit-2/home/18921100
I dunno about this one, the redfin agent said there was water damage to the hardwood so there could be problems with water in the basement. Plus it’s an ugly house right next to an ugly elevated train with like 5 feet separating it from the building on the north side. I think this might sell at list but I don’t think it’s a bargain. I’m a little surprised someone crammed a house onto this lot given how little room there is on either side of it.
Sabrina’s picture above is a lot better than the one I linked. Didn’t catch that before hand.
How much do you really think you could rent a place like this for? I mean, you might as well be living directly under the tracks here. If no one wants to buy it to live in it, then why would I want to rent here either.
…another house whose exterior makes me feel bad about life. That being said, I agree that buying both units and renting them out would probably earn you some money.
Renters are different. Places rent by the L all over the city.
You have 5 bedrooms between the 2 units. Figure $500 per bedroom as a conservative rental value… $2500 a month. Granted the taxes between the 2 are a blowout, if you could consolidate them, or revalue the 2 separate tax parcels on their own, you could have good cashflow. Its a little hairy, but I think a savvy investor will make this work.
I have actually been in this unit. These pictures must be from 3-4 years ago. This unit is completely unlivable – one of the biggest disasters I have seen.
First of all, the floor plan is a total mess. It’s basically a split level – a short, narrow staircase leads to two bedrooms with en suite baths on the upper level. Both bedrooms and bathrooms are trashed. The lower level has the kitchen and a very small (maybe 12×12) living room. No real room for a dining table. The lower level also has the third bedroom + bath. Both, again, completely trashed. The renters were two complete slob college girls with a giant dog that left hair all over the place and likely pissed/sh*t on the floors.
“Water damage” doesn’t begin to describe the condition of the floor downstairs. There is a ridge that runs the length of the floor and is about 4-6″ high. I thought it might be a giant tree root under the floor, but I guess it was caused by water. Absolutely everything in this unit would need to be redone, and then you’re left with a place within reaching distance of the tracks.
Also, the door on the front of the property is only for the upper unit. The front door for this unit is on the south side of the property, basically directly under the tracks.
If somebody tore this down and turned it into some sort of covered garage/storage, I would rent space.
chi_dad,
From your description the place sounds like a total nightmare… and the list price sounds about right. I might go check this joint out later in the week.
JP$ – I saw it about 18 months ago. Would love to hear how it looks now!
What a beautiful half million dollar home.
could work if you wanted to add to the slumlord collection
I think Bob is going to check out this property to see if it is squattable.
looks like something from the wild west
I remember when this was listed with really nice photos, I thought it looked great and actually considered going to look at it. Then they relisted it in its current condition. Ouch.
“I’m a little surprised someone crammed a house onto this lot given how little room there is on either side of it”
Neither here nor there, but this house was most likely already there when the EL was built.