Bank Owned 2-Flat in Uptown for 44% Less Than in 2006: 4887 N. Ashland
This 1894 2-flat at 4887 N. Ashland in Uptown (or is this Ravenswood?) just came on the market.
It has been bank-owned since April 2009 but only recently listed.
It is listed for $290,100 less than the 2006 purchase price.
This 2-flat appears to be large. Here are the units:
- Unit #1: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths
- Unit #2: 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, duplex up into the attic
The listing says there are newer kitchen and baths (and that looks to be the case from the pictures.)
There is also a fenced backyard and a 2-car garage. The listing doesn’t say if there is central air, washer/dryer in individual units or on the premises or if there are separate furnaces/utilities.
At this price- is it starting to make sense to live in the top floor unit and rent out the other?
Alex Sowa at Arc Realtors has the listing. See the pictures here.
4887 N. Ashland: 8 bedrooms, 5 baths, 2 car garage, 2-flat
- Sold in May 1989 for $95,000
- Sold in October 2003 for $370,000
- Sold in February 2006 for $670,000
- Lis pendens filed in June 2008
- Bank owned in April 2009
- Recently listed for $379,900
- Taxes of $7734
The finishes are not the greatest, I suspect the fresh paint job is working to camouflage some flaws and I don’t know how busy Ashland is at this location, however, for this amount of space at this price, I could deal, and I would be totally happy with this house!
5 bathrooms? I’ve never seen anything like it.
Someone talk me out of it!
This has been an REO for well over 6 months and now the bank decides to trickle it back onto the market at the 2003 price?
REOs will trickle onto the market for years. Nowhere near the bottom.
What’s with the orange stickers in the photos?
The stickers mean the place has been winterized: water has been shut off, pipes have been drained, so they don’t burst this winter and make this REO worth less than the value of the land.
Hey that’s a good sign! Many banks just didn’t bother and just let the place freeze!!
Ugh. I would buy this place in a second if I could.
BTW: This is a block West of Uptown’s border.
“Hey that’s a good sign! Many banks just didn’t bother and just let the place freeze!!”
last i heard banks were running anti-freeze through the pipes, cause its quicker and cheaper. but its just hearsay.
“BTW: This is a block West of Uptown’s border.”
There’s an old saying that sums up that comment nicely…
“Too close for comfort.”
any idea about rental values in this neighborhood? may be worth it as an investor… if the 3br rents for $1300 and the 5br rents for $2000, you’re doing very well in cash-flow terms (PITI comes to $2700 or so @$380k)
Far to the El but v close to the 22 bus into town…
would make sense for an owner-occupied… someone could get a very nice place with not much down on an FHA loan
I’ve winterized a place without having the water shut off. Doesn’t a water termination notice mean they weren’t paying the bill?
Nevermind, I thought the stickers were in the window.
on winterizing: I looked at a lot of REo 3-4 flats last winter/spring. The stickers don’t necessarially mean a good job of winterizing was done. I saw one place that had been winterized, the hot water tank had exploded, the supply line popped at the their junctions.
Antifreeze can be poured down the toliet or waste system and will settle in the p-traps, S-bends, etc. But its not like the whole waste system can be filled, it would just drain out. As for supply lines, those need to be drained and the main water shut off (I believe this hsould be turned off at the street level).
This does not always happen (properly) thats why you have flooding and mold issues in the spring.
Also what’s up with the back of the house, it looks like people have been throwing bricks at the house with those huge dents
Sonies,
I live in Uptown and I love it. If we could only get rid of the aldercritter…
This place is closer to “Andersonville.”
“Recently listed for $379,900”
-come back in a few months and it will most certainly be lower. The biggest concern will be any freezing damage over the winter.
“it looks like people have been throwing bricks at the house with those huge dents”
thats what happens living that close to uptown.
Add all the bathrooms you want, it’s still kind of a dump. No basement?
fail.
jason(TFO) if you love uptown you must have a high tolerance for crazy people. I dont. To each his own!
We have the occasional sage….
Of course… I read this blog don’t I….. 😉
Uptown crazies are on broadway not ashland iirc
Yup. It is amazing. You get off the Wilson stop and head west. Once you are past Clifton its like there is an invisible crazy person force field.
Of course, that is a hairy 50 yards to walk…..
” its like there is an invisible crazy person force field”
Invisible dog fence, with collars modified for human use?
I wonder if we can get federal funding for that?
East of Broadway is where are the nut jobs are… Broadway is the invisible fence. Everything west of Broadway is pretty nice and no different from the rest of the city.
El is a walk, but you forgot about Metra Ravenswood which is a 5 min walk. If it wasn’t a long walk for me I would take Metra any day over the Red Line.
This part of Ashland is busy, and its a hall to get to P-trans, its also a little sketchy over here at night
“Everything west of Broadway is pretty nice and no different from the rest of the city.”
Spills over a bit at Wilson. And probably will at Montrose, too, once the new residents move into the Wilson Yards project.
I like to call my area “East Ravenswood” or “Uptown Square” 😉
How did they cram that many bedrooms and baths into such a small looking building?
“How did they cram that many bedrooms and baths into such a small looking building?”
Looks to be ~1250 sf per floor. 3d floor probably has ~900 usable SF (calling some sloped roof area as usable). The kitchens look small, as do the bathrooms and I bet there is almost no hallway. And the BRs are likely all about 150 SF.
For those of you in the know: How have banks been lately in terms of flexibility on list prices on their REOs?
They want the deal that is most likely to close quickly as opposed to one that brings a higher bid.
I bet a $300K cash offer would take this place.
they would be lucky, and wet their pants.
“I bet a $300K cash offer would take this place.”
The problem with this location is not “proximity” to Uptown, but the fact that it’s on Ashland. The neighborhood is nice here and you walk right into Andersonville (one of the most enjoyable restaurant and retail strips in the city), walk to Metra, easy to Wrigleyville for games (literally 7 mins on bike or cab…easy bus). It’s an easy walk to the small but good restaurant district at Wilson/Sunnyside and Ravenswood, and now Montrose from Ashland to Damen is really looking good. Lincoln Square is close too.
It’s been $379K for 4 days. I suspect it has offers close to that already barring any major structual problem. The 150ft lot is nice.
I asked my wife once if I find a terrific deal on a dream house on Ashland (we were walking just north of this location at the time) would she do it… she said no, not on Ashland.
If I were single, I’d maybe do a huge top floor condo w/ rooftop if it meant saving 20% on the same unit over a nicer residential street location in the hood. A house or two flat on four lane traffic is tough though.
This house is in foreclosure auction in a few weeks. Starting bid of $129k.