An Albany Park Single Family Home Under $400,000: 3740 W. Agatite

Many people are looking for “affordable” single family homes on the North Side. Prices have surged in the last few years so that the “starter” home is virtually non-existent.

Or is it?

Foreclosures are creeping into the north side- even  in the single family home market. Such is the case with this house at 3740 W. Agatite in Albany Park.

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The listing says it’s in “need of repairs”. Anyone game?

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3740 W. Agatite: 3 bedrooms,  2.5 baths, 2 car garage

  • Sold in October 2004 for $235,000
  • Sold in May 2005 for $400,000 (bought by D & S Builders LLC)
  • Sold in January 2006 for $660,000
  • Currently listed “as-is” for $399,000
  • Chicago Realty Partners, Ltd. has the listing

7 Responses to “An Albany Park Single Family Home Under $400,000: 3740 W. Agatite”

  1. was it a double lot that was purchased in May, 2005 for $400K, then improved with two houses? can’t figure it out.

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  2. Bubbleboi: You are correct. MLS #: 05063001 was the sale of the double lot. There was a home on the lot at the time it was sold.

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  3. Given the pictures, the kitchen must be trashed, right? Nothing else looks bad.

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  4. Lovable house with charm and large, attractive rooms, but the kitchen needs work and so does that large bath. Do I see mold creeping along the baseboard by the shower stall?

    This is a 2004 (or further back) rollback as far as I’m concerned.

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  5. Laura:

    As everyone likes to ask on the new condos, what’s a ’04 or earlier rollback on a house like this which was finished in ’06?

    Using the ’04 price, the land is worth about $125k (don’t think this drops much further). Say the house is 3000 sq ft and replacement cost is $100/ft (also not dropping much, unless commodity prices drop). Deduct for repairs–$50K?–and you’re at $375k–really close to the $399k asking price. I would be surprised if they didn’t take $375k, if you offered a quick close and no contingency.

    Obviously, you’d need to do a good inspection before you made the offer. And if the repairs are more than $50k, I don’t think it’s worth the hassle.

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  6. I get you, anon.

    Ok,then look at the 2005 price of $400K, which is for one house. 2005 was the absolute peak of the mania, so I’d discount the place 25% just on that score.

    Then, the place looks like it has some problems, from the looks of the bathroom baseboard. If that is mold, we have a really large problem.

    I like the place, but it is still a frame house in Albany Park.

    If the place has no big problem, $300K would be my top dollar for this place.

    If there is a problem, much less. This place compares, in architecture, features, and neighborhood, very unfavorably with the magnificent Mediterranean in West Ridge, a nabe I feel much better about than Albany Park. That house would be lucky to fetch $500K. Which I will admit is a personal bias.

    What would a house comparable to this one, in Albany Park, have sold for in 2004? Or 2002?

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  7. Hey, I’d only buy it as a rental, too, because that’s too far west without being far enough north for me, but $300k is just barely replacement cost for the building. It may need repairs, but unless the whole thing is a giant mold hotel, it isn’t going to cost $100k+. If it is that moldy, they’ll never be able to dump it, as it’s just getting worse.

    The $400k in ’05 was for the prior teardown–megc says that was for two lots–so $200k for the lot. I’m certain that the lot isn’t worth that today, but I’d stick with it being worth at least $125k.

    What’s the neighborhood elementary school?

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