A North Center Single Family Home Under $360,000: 2117 W. Belle Plaine
Recently, there was a debate about what land is selling for in Lincoln Park, Lakeview and some other North Side neighborhoods.
This 3-bedroom single family home at 2117 W. Belle Plaine in North Center has been on the market since May 2010.
It is not next to the El tracks, on a busy street, or on a corner lot.
The house, constructed in 1891, is built on a 25×120 lot and has a 1-car garage.
The listing says it is “as-is” and “needs updating” but it has a new roof and some new windows.
And the property is located, according to the listing, in the Coonley School District.
The house has been reduced $40,000 since May.
Not including the house itself, is this a deal just for the property?
Doris Rivera at Century 21 has the listing. See the pictures here.
2117 W. Belle Plaine: 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, 1 car garage, no square footage listed
- Sold in December 1988 for $2584
- Originally listed in May 2010 for $399,900
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $359,900
- Taxes of $3919
- No Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 12×10 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 10×8
- Bedroom #3: 9×7
- Kitchen: 9×11
- Living room: 14×11
- Family room: 14×13 (second floor)
My, my, how the north side of Chicago has changed in 20 years. This place sold for $4700 (2010 dollars) in ’88.
nice deal back in 1988—but then again, I assume that “$2584” is a typo!!
Short walk to the school too.
“I assume that “$2584? is a typo!!”
I actually don’t think that it is. There’s a mortgage listed in the 1990s for $4000-something.
I could believe $25,840, but not $2584. I lived in Wicker Park in the late 80’s, and that area was still very rough, but a vacant lot was still worth $25K or more–and that was at a time when it hadn’t been economically feasible to build new construction around there for 20 years, since the finished product couldn’t sell for as much as the hard costs involved.
And, this type of place would have sold for probably $60 to 80 K or more, depending on the block. So while I could believe that north center was a bit cheaper than Wicker, the only places that would have sold for $2500 in the late 80’s would have been in streets where every other house was boarded up & had gang shootings daily (I don’t know enough about this area, but think it was probably solid working class in the 60’s to 80’s)
Is that the real estate agent waiting to pounce from behind the white sectional?
Crapshacks like this are all over the city and is a reminder that before the 1990’s very few areas of the cities were gentrified. This one isn’t actually that bad of shape but it’s tough to salvage in today’s world. It’s got only 1.5 baths and probably no room anywhere to put another one. Its very small, very old, has an unfinished basement, has no air conditioning. It would take lots of money, lots of it, to upgrade it to what we today would be interested in living in. And at $359,000 ain’t nobody going to pay that to put another $100k to gut the place and redo it. Maybe in 2005 or 2006 somebody crazy enough would have attempted to redo this place but not now. The north side still has a bunch of these crapshacks left with crazy ridiculous asking prices. At $359,000 you’re basically funding these aging city dweller’s retirement. I’d give them a $150k and tell them to move on.
Here’s a similar house a little west of this property. Been listed on and off since July of 2009 with no takers. The house is complete crap, it’s entirely too small, although it’s a bigger lot it has no alley, and if my calculations are correct, the upstairs has four bedrooms, a bathroom and a hallway in less than 650 sq ft.
$315,000! !! ! ! ! ! !! !
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3830-N-Lowell-Ave-60641/home/13458802
Yeah but that house is in a generally less desireable neighborhood (a “little” west? LOL)
Why don’t you go another two miles west and look at the crapshacks for under 200k near the airport while you’re spouting nonsense
The only one spouting nonsense is you calling this neighborhood undesirable.
Lowell is lined with homes listed and selling for a million dollars. This house sold for $942,000 just a few months ago.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3855-N-Lowell-Ave-60641/home/25716031
“#Sonies on July 15th, 2010 at 8:19 am
Yeah but that house is in a generally less desireable neighborhood (a “little” west? LOL)
Why don’t you go another two miles west and look at the crapshacks for under 200k near the airport while you’re spouting nonsense”
2 miles west would be grooves neighborhood which is still not o’hare
I nominate that living room shot for “worst picture in a real estate listing”. All you can see in the pic is the couch/armchair/dining room chair (in front of the couch for some reason). The picture doesn’t capture anything about the room at all.
The house *next door* is under contract with a last list of $849.9. Claims a “total gut” in ’05. Does $500k get this house to the condition and size of the neighbor? Probably. Maybe even a little bit less. So, this prop isn’t a “deal”, but is in the ballpark of the implied (current) land value of it’s neighbors.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2113-W-Belle-Plaine-Ave-60618/home/13391247
The house next door is totally different… I don’t even know if you could get $500k financing to turn the subject house into the house next door. You would have to start adding additions and digging up the basement. I don’t know, it doesn’t seem feasible in this market. Financing is everything.
looking at the house next door, no wonder these sellers are having delusions of grandeur… but I’ll bet they’ve never been inside 2113. Is this a teardown price? Still too high, since there won’t be much tearing down for another little while, either.
“The house next door is totally different” and “Financing is everything.”
Well, yeah. Which is why teardown-ish places in less-than-perfect locations are needing to be marked down*. This one’s too expensive to be a smaller fixer and too small to be a realistic gut-ish rehab. $300k (where you might be able to turn it into a *nice* smaller house for under $425 total) would make it a lot more appealing. At $400, with the same $125 in, you’d just buy 4024 Bell (asking $560) and get the same type house w/o the hassle.
* my comment on pricing in the other thread was based on a possibly mistaken assumption of a new-con SFH on the lot, thus warranting a nicer location to justify dropping $500k+ (and likely ++) on construction.
ALSO–that 1988 “deed” was a *TRUST DEED*, also known as a mortgage. There was no conveyance for $2584 in 1988, the (still current, by appearance of the record) owners borrowed $2584, apparently to have some work done, as the lender looks like a contractor.
Back in ’06 the neighbor the next street over from me was in foreclosure and he had a total crapshack, much worse than 2117. It was a teardown under any circumstance. He was trying to sell his house before losing it and he was trying to do it FSBO. He was asking $775k for his house. He kept saying to me “Look, we live on a block with million dollar houses, there are million dollar houses everywhere. Fix up my house and it’s a million dollar house too.” the dude was delusional. I heard through the grapevine that he had an offer from a developer to buy it for $575 as a tear down and the seller said hell no. He ended up losing it in foreclosure and the lot eventually sold for $400k to another developer who demolished it and built a true million dollar home. So, those delusions of grandeur from long time owners is to be expected.
“2 miles west would be grooves neighborhood which is still not o’hare”
and about 4 miles south too.
but is 350k of a AS-iS really the market pice in north center? its a scary world
Shoot the seller and hang the realtor!
This is one nasty mess of a house. Do college kids reside here or what is the excuse for such a mess? I am sure this place has seen it’s share of parties…was left wondering when I would see a beer can pyramid adorning a wall. And the asking price?? Really??
And also wondering where the bungalow expert is asking “what about the original stained glass windows” even though this is NOT a bungalow. Using that same mind set…the fab white living room sectional is a B&B Italia design.