The Barn in North Center is Still Available and Now a Short Sale: 4309 N. Bell
This 3-bedroom property at 4309 N. Bell in North Center (or is this Lincoln Square???) doesn’t just look like a barn from the outside- it truly is one.
We last chattered about it in September 2009. It is still available and is now reduced another $40,000 and is now a short sale.
See our September 2009 chatter here.
Built in 1898, the 2-story home has a stone fireplace and exposed wood beams.
The kitchen appears to have maple cabinets and stainless steel appliances.
It also has central air but no parking.
At what price does this become a deal?
Susan Romano at Real Estate Solutions, Inc. has the listing. See the pictures here.
4309 N. Bell: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1500 square feet
- Sold in December 1990 for $77,000
- Sold in July 1996 for $105,000
- Sold in April 2002 for $220,000
- Originally listed in February 2009 for $644,900
- Reduced several times
- Lis pendens filed in June 2009
- Reduced in July 2009 to $469,000
- Reduced
- Was listed in September 2009 for $429,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed as a “short sale” for $389,000
- Taxes of $4288
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 14×12 (second level)
- Bedroom #2: 14×10 (second level)
- Bedroom #3: 9×9 (second level)
9×9 is a closet not a bedroom.
And no parking kills this place.
That said, getting close to a deal – maybe.
p.s. If this place was “designer owned,” it was either a very lazy or terrible designer. Doctor heal thyself.
The pricing history is such a joke!!
I doubt it will find a buyer anytime in the near future being priced as it is now. Perhaps if it fell back to the 2002 price and there was some forward thinking architecture student wanting to make his mark in the city…maybe? “Modern and urban barn living…” reads the headline in Apartment Therapy.
Who in this somewhat cosmopolitan city would want to live in this place as it is now? Maybe a Southern born, new to the city, just won Powerball person would see the attraction to this place??
Hard to make any solid predictions on this one…even the overdecorated Versace mansion wanna be palace featured a few months ago was more predicatable.
What is the lot like?
I think it could be very sweet, if the new owners toned down the country theme just a little, and made it more Pottery Barn instead of Actual Barn. Why doesn’t the listing show the living room, skylights or screened porch, though? Anyway, I think this might be a good alternative for around $300K for a couple with one baby/toddler/preschooler, who want to go with public school, as the neighborhood school, Coonley, is improving quickly for the youngest grades.
good lord this place needs some professional staging… like the best in the business to put some polish on this place and unclutter it as it stands nobody is going ot even want to bother seeing the place as it looks like a cheezy wisconsin dells roach motel
“urban barn living” makes me recall the urban sombrero. I’m with westloop on this one, bring it back near 2002 Doc Brown.
I think it has potential to be really cool, but needs to go in a more modern, stream-lined direction. Definitely needs some staging to get rid of all that clutter. It looks like one of those terrible Craiglist ads that still has all their junk covering the bedside table. Who wants to buy that?
I’m fine without parking, but that’s cause I don’t have a car and it is close to the Brown line. But I see the flaw for resale purposes. If it drops another $150k, I’d snap it up in a jiffy.
If the adjacent lot were guaranteed to be building-free (for growing an urban field of corn, of course), the price is beginning to approach reality. Still, I’d want another $100K or so to gut the place. And what is going on with that lot anyway?
I think Mangan has the adjacent lot and it offering to build a $1.179M house.
“what is going on with that lot anyway?”
Mangan owns it. It had been available as a vacant (don’t see that now) or they’ll build it–link is http://www.manganbuilders.com/address.php?property_ID=58 which shows a pic, but there obviously isn’t a house there yet.
My fiance and I actually put in 3 different offers on this place. No we are not NEW to the city, we have lived in the neighborhood for years and were hoping to make a permanent residence without buying a cookie-cutter condo.
That being said, we wasted 8 months waiting for the bank on this short sale (it’s been in short sale for 2 years). Our finally offer being $330K (which we think is a great price for this place considering it is almost too unique for most), the bank took too long, we pulled our offer out when the first time home-buyers tax credit ended and are now happily planning our wedding. Too bad though, this house is really quite cute (I’ll admit the interior shots are old and it’s terribly marketed), however the house itself is updated with little to no work that needs to be done. Perfect starter home, for a couple or a couple with a young child.
Most likely it will go to auction where the bank will get less for it than what we would have purchased it for. It’s a dog eat dog world my friends.
Wait. So you low balled them by 60 grand and you don’t know why they sat on your offer?
Auctions have a tendency to raise more money than most people ever thought was possible. Auction is totally the way to go for the Barn. The bank would get more than 330k at auction. Auction.
Auction.
The auction on the court house steps 99.9% of the time results in the property going back to the bank. The bank has a judgment credit equal to the amount of their mortgage. if no one bids higher than the bank’s judgment, then the house goes to the bank. The bank will sit on it for 8 months and transfer it to an asset manager. The asset manager will give the property to some REO agent who will take once picture and sell it as is for $275 next year.
Anyone know how much they were asking for this when it was listed in ’07 and ’08?
That they thought $645 was even plausible in ’09 is completely insane.
“The auction on the court house steps 99.9% of the time results in the property going back to the bank”
no, it doesn’t
99.8% of the time maybe?
Let’s just say not very often, I would say rarely.
Three years ago things were different- property sold at foreclosure auctions to third party bidders quite regularly. People actually had equity in their house. Today most foreclosures are underwater.
Price cut on this abomination to 370k on 6/27.
its now 334k!
and i heard you get to hens and a baby boat now!
“and i heard you get to hens and a baby boat now!”
Does the boat grow up to be something worth having?
If I were uber rich, I’d buy this for a laugh. Can you imagine inviting people over for the first time? LMAO
“Does the boat grow up to be something worth having?”
you will not guilt me into proof reading! i shall not be swayyed!!!
*goat by the way 🙂 also swayyyed was intentional