Bucktown Victorian Storefront Reduces $125,900 in Last 11 Months: 2075 N. Oakley
We last chattered about this 3-bedroom duplex down unit in a Victorian storefront at 2075 N. Oakley in Bucktown in January 2010.
At that time, it was listed for $93,000 above the 2006 purchase price at $824,900.
Many of you disagreed with the pricing (to put it mildly) and there were predictions of a sale anywhere from $550,000 to $650,000.
See our prior chatter here.
The unit is still on the market and has now been reduced $125,900 and is now listed $32,500 under the 2006 purchase price.
This unique unit is located in what was a Victorian storefront and appears to still have the original tin ceiling.
The kitchen has marble counter tops and stainless steel appliances.
2 out of the 3 bedrooms are on the main floor with the third in the lower level.
There is also a lower level family room with marble floors.
The side yard is private to the unit and there is an attached garage.
Is this property now priced to sell or have market conditions also changed since the original listing, and chatter, 11 months ago?
Jennifer Mills at Koenig & Strey still has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #1: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2600 square feet, duplex down, 1 car parking
- Sold in April 1999 for $320,000
- Sold in January 2002 for $462,500
- Sold in July 2006 for $731,500
- Was listed in January 2010 for $824,900
- Reduced numerous times
- Currently listed for $699,000
- Assessments of $259 a month (includes cable)
- Taxes of $6100
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 11×10 (main level)
- Bedroom #2: 18×12 (main level)
- Bedroom #3: 14×11 (lower level)
- Family room: 21×19 (lower level)
The problem with a place like this is that there is really little or nothing like it. It might be worth 700k to the right buyer, but holding out for the “right buyer” for a unique property in this market is a dream.
This place is somewhat similar to what I live in, vintage commerical building with street level main floor. I also have a full height finished basement like this, however I also have a floor up (triplex) and my 3 bedrooms are all on the top floor. I’ve got a private roof deck similar size to this yard and an attached garage (1 spot) I would say my finishings are better than this place. In Wicker Park that cost me $550k back in 2006, so my question is how did they pay $731,500 for this in 2006? That has to be the biggest rip off I’ve even seen, this place was worth $499k tops, if that in 2006. The current owners will be stuck with this place for a very long time. Make me feel alot better about my place.
“The current owners will be stuck with this place for a very long time.”
No instead they’ll likely walk. They probably realize now that they have no equity and what is walking other than a seven year ding on your credit score?
At least they aren’t blaming the agent. In most cases like this they assume its the agent’s fault for not marketing it widely enough or properly instead of the obvious (pricing) and they’d be on the second or third agent by now.
More jingling envelopes this Christmas, folks! Hohoho!
I don’t see much hope for this place at this price with nice-ish SFHs listing for $700K.
to state the obvious (which is the purpose of internet trolling): just look at the current MLS listings, lots and lots of duplex-downs @ better prices and/or locations and/or amenities, etc,.
this home turns over every 4 years,
gotta wonder why?
“this home turns over every 4 years,
gotta wonder why?”
Well, the first two times it may have been the ability to sell for a 40-60 percent “profit” after just owning a few years (I know I’m grossly oversimplifying). That seems to have been eliminated as a reason to sell.
“this home turns over every 4 years,
gotta wonder why?”
4 years = the average amount of time between (1) wedded bliss, let’s get a condo and (2) this condo isn’t working for our kid(s).
I’ve said my peace on this place – do not get.
“this home turns over every 4 years,
gotta wonder why?”
Over two years to get the capital gain tax exclusion but shorter than five years because 1) to flip the hot potato and capitalize on another person’s willingness to overpay for the property during the bubble and 2) it probably isn’t that much fun living here.
“4 years = the average amount of time between (1) wedded bliss, let’s get a condo and (2) this condo isn’t working for our kid(s).”
Bucktown/Wicker Park don’t work for kids. All of a sudden the MTV2 set goes from being yuppies who are wannabe artistes to thinking pragmatically about their kids.
Seriously these people have the foresight of Ray Charles in a fog advisory.
“Bucktown/Wicker Park don’t work for kids. All of a sudden the MTV2 set goes from being yuppies who are wannabe artistes to thinking pragmatically about their kids.”
Bob,
How does Bucktown/Wicker Park not work for kids?
Bunch of hipsters, no parks, not aware of any decent elementary schools, proximity to the highway and the accompanying degraded air quality (sorry don’t want my kids getting asthma just so I can drink PBR at the double door).
When you go for a walk do you point out the drunken heroin addicted crust kids that hang out at the el stop and say “don’t be like them?” Do you point out the numerous tricked out escalades that drive up and down damen/milwaukee with loud speakers and drug dealers inside and say “don’t be like them?” or when the bums walk the side streets and smash car windows do you say “don’t be like that either?” I Love the area but it’s kind of gross. Bucktown is a bit cleaner but wicker is dirty and urban thats why I love it but it’s no place to raise children, at least in my opinion
“How does Bucktown/Wicker Park not work for kids?”
“Bunch of hipsters”
Only a problem for Bob.
“no parks”
Holstein a block away.
“not aware of any decent elementary schools”
Pulaski a block away.
“proximity to the highway and the accompanying degraded air quality (sorry don’t want my kids getting asthma just so I can drink PBR at the double door).”
HD says no problem. He has a study that will take care of that.
Yes, this place is still overpriced and except for the yard, fairly unexceptional. But I too am curious why Bob thinks that Bucktown/Wicker Park doesn’t work for kids? We certainly love it.
“Seriously these people have the foresight of Ray Charles in a fog advisory.”
Bob, I am so stealing this line!
Ok….I understand now. I guess you think Bucktown/Wicker Park is only the Damen/North/Milwaukee 6 way. I agree it’s a crummy intersection/block and not good for kids. Good thing we have the other 98% of Bucktown/Wicker Park to use.
“HD says no problem. He has a study that will take care of that.”
Yup and when you decide to hightail it out to the burbs once mommy realizes that that environment isn’t family friendly and being the MTV2 aging hipster set is far less preferable than being a responsible parent for your children good luck with that resale value, dude.
Judging my the amount of little kids at my house for trick-or-treating last night, Bucktown/WP/UK Village is fine for a lot of families.
the direction of this thread has encouraged me to comment….
yes, all you internet morons….don’t you understand that the best environment for little kids is to grow up in an ex-urban subdivision with no sidewalks and bisected by a four-lane, 45-mph road where the nearest library, park or store is a three-mile drive away!
Oh the stupidity of people!
“Judging my the amount of little kids at my house for trick-or-treating last night”
Do all of these little kids drop out of school before middle or HS age? I’m curious what happens to them? Oh wait they wind up in Plainfield when mommy & daddy flee for the burbs?
eh…i lived in wicker park- (damen/crystal)- 8 years ago and loved it. now i live on the fringes of it and I hate going down division or damen now. too many strollers. have you seen all of the overpriced baby/kid boutiques? from where i stand it looks like people are raising families their just fine.
There’s a middle-ground between a nabe like Wicker Park, which frankly is a crime-plagued sump, and some soon-to-be-blighted “ex-urban subdivisison withno sidewalks and bisected by a four-lane 45-mph road where the nearest library, park, or store is a three-mile drive away.”
Frankly, neither of these environments is a good place to raise kids, except, as one poster notice, the instructional value in the drug addicts and drunks by the el and the pushers in their “tricked out escalades.”
A good nabe for kids is a cozy city neighborhood or small-town-type suburb with low crime rates, and things like schools, libraries, parks and recreational facilities, and commercial within an easy walk from residential areas. There should be reasonable safety to cross the street, ride your bike, walk to the corner store for candy, or play in the local parks.
Winnetka or Oak Park or Wilmette or Highland Park or Evanston- yes. Vernon Hills or Schaumburg (and about 60 other similar places in Chicagoland)no.
Jefferson Park or Galewood or Lakeview or Ravenswood or Lincoln Square- yes. Bucktown or Wicker Park or West Town or Uptown- no.
“Wicker Park, which frankly is a crime-plagued sump”
From the woman who lives on the edge of Rogers Park.
I rarely ever post and here i am AGAIN. twice in 10 minutes. It seems like lately so many posts end with the burbs versus the city debate. I mean- it is personal preference. We could debate and debate and debate. why does it always go here?
“From the woman who lives on the edge of Rogers Park.”
I actually agree with her. She’s lived in this city for quite some time and her estimation of neighborhoods that are more family friendly is spot on, IMO.
“I actually agree with her. She’s lived in this city for quite some time and her estimation of neighborhoods that are more family friendly is spot on, IMO.”
Only comment was on WP as a “crime-plagued sump”. I guess it’s a “takes a certain familiarity with crime-plagued sumps to recognize them” comment.
“Do all of these little kids drop out of school before middle or HS age? I’m curious what happens to them? Oh wait they wind up in Plainfield when mommy & daddy flee for the burbs?”
That’s a fair (but different) point. There’s got to be a lot more K-8 kids in the city than there used to be (probably greater concentration in the lower grades) with all the newly viable CPS elementary schools.
“Wicker Park, which frankly is a crime-plagued sump”
Clio, stop hijacking Laura’s account!
The only thing I like about this listing is the sales associate, everything else is so not my style
Clearly people think that the only way to raise children was how you were raised. My kids will do just fine without Plainfield as I did.
“The only thing I like about this listing is the sales associate, everything else is so not my style”
The only thing I like about this listing is the junior sales associate.
“The only thing I like about this listing is the junior sales associate.”
Given the quality of sales associates I have seen lately, I’d take a junior just because they will actually get up off their a$$ and call you back.
I don’t see a Jr. sales associate bob… what you think I meant the broker? LOL no, i’m not 50 years old
“a nabe like Wicker Park, which frankly is a crime-plagued sump”
Wow, are we talking about the same place? Nice blog btw.
What’s the difference between this blog, cable news, and a tea party rally? Yeah, not much.
I’ve always liked Wicker Park; I’ve there many many times in the 15 years i’ve lived in the city. But it’s not my ideal place to raise children. That intersection is a dump and that’s the defining feature of wicker park – not the park itself. I’m sure it’s good enough for other people but it’s not good enough for me. Englewood and Roseland aren’t good places to raise children either but that’s not stopping some people. Children are everywhere in every neighborhood. to each’s own.
Anon, compare the crime rates for the Shakespeare District (Wicker Park and Bucktown) and those of the 24th District (Rogers Park & Edgewater), and you will be struck by how much higher index (the most violent) crime rates are for the Shakespeare district than they are for District 24.
The only truly dangerous part of Rogers Park is the northern-most part along Howard Street and the “North of Howard” pocket. This is the pocket that gives the area an undeserved bad reputation. Personally, I would not live in that area. I prefer the south end of Rogers Park, from Farwell close to Sheridan on south to Edgewater. I can, and do, walk around pretty much as I please at any hour I please- exercising reasonable caution and vigilance, of course. I have never been threatened personally and have encountered only a handful of unsavory characters in this part of the area.
You try to stay east of the el tracks and south of Farwell. Other parts are pretty but dicier- it is a block-by-block thing.
On the other hand, I’m ALWAYS nervous in Wicker Park and Logan Square, and edgy in Bucktown. Saw one of the worst-looking, most thugged-out bars I ever saw in this city on Chicago close to Leavitt, which is one dreary, ugly, barren stretch of street, on my way to visit a prospective client who owns a small factory over there. I’m also always a little nervous in Uptown and try to avoid it.
Also, I am single and childless.Middle-class children in this neighborhood go to private schools and lead very confined lives, which is a sad necessity- I would not want my children to have to live such limited lives that they could not walk 6 blocks without an adult accompanying them, and I’m sure that Wicker Park parents have to be just as protective. If I had children, I’d probably move to some dull, safe place like Jefferson Park or Galewood, or if I could afford it, Ravenswood or Lincoln Square. These are great places for kids, where your kid can be safe on the streets riding her bike while being close to the cultural amenities and urban life you want your kids to be able to enjoy without months of planning for a special day trip into the city. You make a few sacrifices for your kids.
Laura,
I also like Rogers Park, but your Bucktown/UK Village bashing is sounding VERY Clio-like right now. “Thugged-out” bar on Chicago and Leavitt? Really? Not sure what you’re talking about — all I can come up with is Tuman’s, which is about as far from “thugged out” as you can get. And Chicago, “barren” as it may seem, is going to be changing very soon — Chicago Bowl, Bleeding Heart and a new place from the guys at Fifty/50 (yeah, I know…) are all coming in.
And personally, I hope Chicago Ave retains its “urban” character. I feel totally safe around here. I think many of the crime stats are skewed in the area by including some parts of Humboldt (which I like as well, but yes, it’s definitely still a little…sketchy).
“On the other hand, I’m ALWAYS nervous in Wicker Park and Logan Square, and edgy in Bucktown. Saw one of the worst-looking, most thugged-out bars I ever saw in this city on Chicago close to Leavitt, which is one dreary, ugly, barren stretch of street”
The comments from this person are insane. She is obviously talking about the bar called Dark Room. It’s clear what this person is afraid of… and that is anyone with a shade of skin darker than white.
Maybe it’s been awhile since Laura has been over in that neighborhood? It’s been changing rapidly (literally in just the last year or two.) If it’s been awhile since you were there- it might be surprising to see the changes.
brad, if I were afraid of anyone with a “shade of skin darker than white”, I would not be living in East Rogers Park. Or Edgewater. I can, and do, walk past gang-boys hanging out in front of the Morse el station (though not so much as they used to) with little fear.
True, it’s been a couple of years since I last was on Chicago Ave, and the horrid bar I saw was across the street. Maybe it’s not there anymore. I hope not. I would have crossed the street not to have to walk past the guys I saw hanging there- greasy-looking older goons in undershirts with tatoo’d arms, leaning up against the wall of in front of the bar, on the ground floor of a building that looked like it was about to fall down. It was right down the street from a really great place called the Black Beetle, and there was ample evidence of intense “gentrification”, like a couple of expensive new condo buildings on streets adjacent, next door to vacant lots. Most of the houses were 19th century worker-cottages with asphalt siding, which I suppose some people paid many hundreds of thousands of dollars for.
Well, that explains it — Black Beetle is pretty far from Leavitt (other side of Western and all…). And even that side of Chicago has changed quite a bit. Try it again. Not sure you’ll actually like it (very different from the tree-lined streets of Rogers Park), but maybe you’ll see why people actually want to live here.
“Black Beetle is pretty far from Leavitt (other side of Western and all…).”
I just ate at this place! A LOT has changed there the last few years. If you ask me, the prices (to buy) have gotten ridiculous and I’m not sure what’s going to happen to all the gentrification now that it’s busting, but the area has a “real” vibe to it (not many yuppies over there but plenty of artists and younger hipsters.)
I live in E-town, and have often biked/walked through the pocket of Rogers Park north of Howard St. I’ve never felt threatened or sketched out there at all. Juneway Terrace actually has some very nice single family homes. And most of the apartment buildings look decent from the outside. East Lake Terrace is a great street, with a very close-knit neighborly feel. Lot’s of dog walkers who all know each other.
danny, if you’ve never felt threatened there, that’s because you’re not around on a warm Friday or Saturday night. We have had way too many shootings and other mayhem up there, and too many ongoing problems with badly run slum apartment buildings that harbor criminal activity.
It’s a shame, because it’s a pretty area. Sheridan Road between Howard and Calvary Cemetary is very beautiful, and Eastlake Terrace is gorgeous. But do you know what the denizens of Rogers Park call Juneway Terrace? It is referred to among locals as the “Juneway Jungle”, three-block-long strip of bad housing and gang activity.I have many friends who live in the area around Juneway, Jonquil, Howard, Birchwood, and on Eastlake Terrace, and they are extremely upset at the ongoing violence and threat.
The area is improving with the construction of a new high rise market rental on the Evanston side of the border, at Howard & Clark, but progress is one step forward, three steps back. EVerytime we think we have this area in hand, something else happens.
Wow, all the hatin’ on Wicker Park/Bucktown here!
Chill out folks…obviously you’ve been reading too many Nelson Algren novels lately – and not realizing that those books are 60 years old!
Now, I happen to LIKE most of Nelson Algren’s work (as well as James Farrell’s “Studs Lonigan Trilogy,” to my mind the Great Chicago Novel). But Frankie Machine and Bruno Bicek are long gone, along with the Tug & Maul bar and the Milwaukee Ave. streetcars. (But everything is still D-Day under the L.)
And I’m glad that he’s among the inaugural “class” of inductees into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame (ceremony at Northeastern U. on November 20, during that “smoke-colored season between Indian Summer and December’s first true snow.”)
Much of what Algren wrote in terms of political corruption, cops being paid off by local crooks, etc., still ring true today, which is why his books find a new audience among young Chicagoans every few years. But if his ghost were to walk among today’s Wicker Park “renovated mansions” and Division Street hipster boutiques, he would on the one hand be amazed and on the other, appalled.
Read “City on the Make” to get an idea as to why.
“Anon, compare the crime rates for the Shakespeare District (Wicker Park and Bucktown)”
Did ANYONE look at the boundaries of the 14th (Shakespeare)? It’s bounded by Belmont and Division, the River and CENTRAL F’ING PARK AVENUE!!! There are 3 beats (out of 12) that are plausibly B’town/WP–1432, 1433 and 1434, and all three include non-B/WP areas.
If you had said that Division and Central Park is a “crime-plagued sump”, I wouldn’t have had anything to say–(1) because I haven’t been that way in *years* to know anything about it and (2) I would share your general impression, unless/until presented with contrary facts/observations.
“Did ANYONE look at the boundaries of the 14th (Shakespeare)?”
I didn’t look but knew it went into some less savory areas. I thought it would just be one of those things that go unsaid, like how the illustrative example of being uncomfortable in Bucktown/Wicker/Logan was in none of those.
“I didn’t look but knew it went into some less savory areas. I thought it would just be one of those things that go unsaid, like how the illustrative example of being uncomfortable in Bucktown/Wicker/Logan was in none of those.”
Or even in the cited 14th district. Chicago Avenue, west of Western as an example of Bucktown? About as relevant as saying “I hate to go to Cubs games b/c of the Leland/Sheridan gang shenanigans”–plenty of other criticisms to make, no need to point to things that aren’t applicable.