$80K Under the 2004 Price for this 6 Bedroom House: 1402 W. George in Lakeview
This 6-bedroom single family home at 1402 W. George in Lakeview has been on the market since June 2010.
It has been reduced $210,000 in the last 6 months and is now listed $80,000 under the 2004 purchase price.
The house has 11-foot ceilings and Brazilian cherry floors.
The kitchen has granite counter tops, double ovens and SubZero.
5 out of the 6 bedrooms are on the second and third floors.
There is a family room on the main level and a basement.
The house appears to be newer construction and is on a 25×125 lot with a 2-car garage.
The listing says it is in the Burley school district.
Is this now a deal?
Kathy Murphy at Baird & Warner has the listing. See the pictures here.
1402 W. George: 6 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, 2 car garage
- Sold in May 2002 for $510,000
- Sold in January 2004 for $1,070,000
- Listed in June 2010 for $1.2 million
- Reduced several times
- Currently listed for $990,000
- Taxes of $17,952
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 20×14 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 15×13 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 12×9 (second floor)
- Bedroom #4: 12×15 (third floor)
- Bedroom #5: 10×15 (third floor)
- Bedroom #6: 17×10 (lower level)
- Family room: 20×18 (main level)
Wow that is some appreciation from 2002 to 2004. Can’t wait to see how it was financed in 2004.
I think this is a pretty good deal – I don’t think prices of updated houses in this neighborhood are going to be much lower than this. Sure, it’s not a “steal” but if you wait for a “steal” you are going to have to make a lot of sacrifices and, in five years, will likely find yourself still waiting for that perfect deal.
Bob, it was converted from a two-unit plus garden apt prior to the 2004 sale. Not a teardown.
Still an expensive option for a small family. I’d say that the biggest obstacle here is not the home itself or the location but the confidence in the consumer to purchase at this price point. Taxes, insurance, upkeep, and a serious mortgage make this such a test of ones confidence in the job market over the next decade.
“Bob, it was converted from a two-unit plus garden apt prior to the 2004 sale. Not a teardown.”
So in Chicago during the bubble a 2+garden which was/is worth around 400k magically turns into over 2x the economic value, even if it is the same structure, because some bozo got a funny mortgage to overpay? Sounds about right.
jp3chicago, this price point is not that hard to meet for many people out there. Look at the suburbs – million dollar houses are a dime a dozen – there are THOUSANDS of them out there. I know that this may sound arrogant – but facts are facts (and I am not just talking about Oak Brook, Hinsdale, Winnetka, Kenilworth, Lake Forest, but also every other suburb out there such as Barrington, Western Springs, La Grange, Evanston, Oak Park, River Forest, Elmhurst, Downers Grove, St. Charles, Elburn, Geneva, Wheaton, Willow Springs, Burr Ridge, Highland Park, Skokie, northbrook northfield, kildeer, long grove, vernon hills, mettawa, golf, lincolnwood, lincolnshire, glencoe, glenview, arlington heights, mount prospect, etc. etc.
I don’t understand why the baby/kids room look the way they do in the photos. No one wants to see the kid’s name/junk. Clean it up!
I would argue that this is overpriced. 1543 W Oakdale sold in March 2010 for $880K and is newer construction (2000’s, I believe) with comparable finishes, better layout, and higher ceilings in the basement. The subject property is in a slightly better location, away from Ashland, but not $100K better. My guess is $920K.
I’d guess that much of the appreciation from 2002 to 2004 had to do with a MAJOR rehab of the property. Yes, even with essentially the same structure, new wiring, plumbing, walls, floors, kitchen, bath etc. could bring the property up by most of that (in additional to the fact that this area was improving & RE in general was going up).
The 2002 value for this area suggests that it was in livable but not great shape prior to the conversion.
“So in Chicago during the bubble a 2+garden which was/is worth around 400k magically turns into over 2x the economic value, even if it is the same structure, because some bozo got a funny mortgage to overpay? Sounds about right.”
sorry to much house for that location and price.
during the conversion to the SFH did some say, hey maybe we should cut down on the quantity of the bedrooms and lets say open the staircase a bit?
or maybe during the intitail plans somebody would have said, hey if your going to fill six bedrooms with people umm maybe you would like a bigger dining room?
or maybe a GC, would go ok you know we will blow the budget on the conversion before we even get to the kitchen and that fridge?
Where are the 11′ ceilings? If in the kitchen, most would need a ladder to reach the middle of the upper cabinets.
That kitchen looks like shit. Cherry floors don’t look good with maple cabinets and black granite!
Makes me think this was a polish pickup truck gut rehab special, that master bath looks sooo cheap, the spiral staircase on the rear of the house must be a real treat in the wintertime…
Powerwash and restain that deck it looks delapidated
and whats the point of the two artsy fartsy pictures of a frickin staircase and skylight?
and last of all, what kind of name is Priya?
Priya is a common female Indian name – do you have a problem with that ?
“Priya is a common female Indian name – do you have a problem with that ?”
Yeah, Sonies, way to look like a mid-american rube.
no I was just wondering as I have not seen it before
no worries : http://lmgtfy.com/?q=priya+name
“what kind of name is Priya?”
Ouch dude. Two on my floor alone (and one is hot).
sorry I didn’t grow up in the NW burbs like some of yous guys
and lmgtfy.com is so last year
Perhaps it’s just my deranged lakefront-scentric way of seeing things, but for a million bucks and more than $1,000/mo in taxes, I’d just assume look for a place in Evanston, Wilmette, or Highland Park.
I work two blocks from here. It’s a nice enough hood and that’s a spacious place for a family. Those taxes are crazy though. That monthly tax nut would enrage me and send me to the poor house.
Drop that cash in say North Center on a SFH and you’re looking at taxes maybe 10k lower.
For $1mil+ I am buying newer construction brick. Even if I have to sacrifice location, which is a stretch. This place would make a nice frat house.
The vinyl siding does not help. What are the odds they stripped it to the sheathing and properly insulated/wrapped under the siding? 3:1? Worse?
“This place would make a nice frat house.”
That’s what I was thinking–this was a fantastic frathouse as a 3-unit rental. And it will be fantastic frathouse again at some point within the next decade.
Because fantastic frathouse multi-unit rental actually provides an economic proposition that makes sense. That is, cash-flows without expectation of future appreciation to make the numbers work.
“The vinyl siding does not help. What are the odds they stripped it to the sheathing and properly insulated/wrapped under the siding?”
so your saying that throwing tyvek over the asphalt shingles and stapling up vinyl siding isnt like wrapping your house in a “warm” blanket?
“so your saying that throwing tyvek over the asphalt shingles and stapling up vinyl siding isnt like wrapping your house in a “warm” blanket?”
At least the asbestos in the shingles will reduce the fire risk!
“For $1mil+ I am buying newer construction brick. Even if I have to sacrifice location, which is a stretch. This place would make a nice frat house.”
Yep, couldn’t have said it better…or at least mostly brick
You’ve never heard Priya? Not so uncommon, and I think it’s beautiful.
I was expecting a much better kitchen. Overall not I’m just not impressed.
Hey Cribbers, I’m sure there’s no right answer. but I’m wondering about something. How much should you be willing to put into a place to renovate/update it if it will be a long term home. I know you can buy a place for a $1 and put a million dollars into it (or something like that) but basically is there a rule like no more than 50% of what you purchase it for?
i.e. you buy a foreclosure, short sale, fixerupper for $150K, you shouldn’t put anymore than $75K if it’s gonna be a long term home and you don’t want to risk ending up like some of the owners of these failed flips we see here?
“At least the asbestos in the shingles will reduce the fire risk!”
hey they can claim that with All State as added protection, it will cut the HOI in half.
“How much should you be willing to put into a place to renovate/update it if it will be a long term home.”
Whatever you want to spend for your enjoyment. After the long term not many renovations will still contribute much value, anyway. Major building systems updates, additions or reconfigurations might be some exceptions.
“How much should you be willing to put into a place to renovate/update it if it will be a long term home.”
Whatever you can afford to make it as you’d like it, without insanely over-improving compared to the rest of the neighborhood.
In the late 90’s I bought a VA foreclosure for around $65k, got a 203k HUD loan for ~140k. Probably could have put another $20k+ work into it, but I’m not overextended, my mortgage is perfectly manageable, and it’s an old shell with new guts. Also, I was willing to put in sweat equity, so I saved money that way; put in the floorings, the trim, painting, stuff like that. Some of the most fun times I ever had were during that whole rehab process.
I still contend that whether old house, gut rehab, or new construction, there will ALWAYS be more work to do and more money to be spent on it. If you can’t afford new construction, I think gut-rehab can still be a very good way to go. Do your research, make sure you use a good architect and/or GC.
This place linked to below was purchased for 400K earlier this year and torn down. The brand new house, which is also in Burley (I think), is 1.4 mil. I think the new place should be closer to 1 mil because a brand new house exactly like this sold on the 1700 block of Barry (in Burley) about a year ago for that price. Thus, this listing on George is too expensive.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1244-W-Barry-Ave-60657/home/13365856
“Thus, this listing on George is too expensive”
But it has the same countertops as Martha Stewart does!!! Isn’t that worth at *least* $500k?
With what the lot cost, and the size of the house, I probably expect the cost of construction to be ~$600k, for ~$1mm into the place. And it got finished fast (tho I’m sure they listed before completion–still time to customize!!), so the carrying costs aren’t bad yet. They have a chance if they’d take $1.2-ish, but I think they should reduce some to signal that.
Thanks logansquarean, that is exactly the answer I was hoping for.
“Whatever you can afford to make it as you’d like it, without insanely over-improving compared to the rest of the neighborhood. ”
I like the idea of getting a good architect and GC for the hard stuff and doing some of the other things myself.
Icarus, no problem. And, to clarify, in my case the purchase + gut-rehab rolled into one loan was a total of ~$140k, not $65k purchase plus $140k! I re-read what I wrote and realizied it looked like I spent 2x as much on rehab as on the actual purchase price. It was more like 1:1.
“I spent 2x as much on rehab as on the actual purchase price. It was more like 1:1.”
Not that 2x purchase price is a bad idea, if your PP is low enough and the total cost is not higher than turnkey comps–tho you’d obviously like to be either lower total cost or much nicer for the same total cost as the turnkey comps.
anon, exactly. Of course, back in late 90’s, if I had put double the purchase price into rehab, I’d have been close to over-improving… no, wait…. I could have dug out the basement and had a whole nother floor of useable space, which would have been worth it!
Bottom line was that as a single gal with an okay income, I couldn’t borrow much more than what I did. Back then there were still pretty stiff underwriting regs, and that was the most they’d give me. And I was damned happy about it! I got into the neighborhood I wanted, at a price I could afford, and turned an abandoned eyesore into a home. Bonus points for it being a block away from where I was living at the time, so I could check on it daily.
Logansquarean, I thought that was what you meant – a total loan for $140k. If it was in the 90s you’ve presumably payed much of it down and refinanced smartly over the years.
when/if I take the plunge, I hope I can hit you up for advice or at least the recommendation of a good GC.
How in the world did they get six bedrooms in that place? Must be tiny. The back yard looks to be a nice size, which means the house is short. The top floor doesn’t have much usable space b/c it’s finished attic space. (I agree Pryia is a pretty name, but she must have been pretty small for a pretty small bedroom!)