5-Bedrooms But 1 Full Bathroom In This Vintage Colonial At 1700 W. Wilson In Ravenswood
This 5-bedroom vintage single family home at 1700 W. Wilson in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Uptown came on the market in October 2012. (Sorryabout the massive tree right in the middle of the picture! LOL. It was hard for me to get a good angle on this house.)
The listing says it is a mediterranean with a tile roof and stucco but it also lists it as a “colonial.”
Since it has a colonial looking interior with dark wood door frames, a beamed dining room ceiling and a traditional built-in hutch, and not many mediterranean features, I’m going with colonial (with a mediterranean flair.)
Built in 1909 it is on an extra large corner lot measuring 45×108 and has a 2-car garage (Sabrina’s note: yes- it HAS parking!)
The listing says it has an updated kitchen and baths along with plumbing and electric.
The kitchen has cherry cabinets and stainless steel appliances.
The house has some unique features including a front sunroom and a veranda off the master bedroom.
There is a basement with a 7.5 foot ceiling and a finished studio attic measuring 23×20.
The house only has one full bath and 2 half baths. It also doesn’t have central air.
Originally listed at $1.1 million it has been reduced $351,000 since October.
Does having only 1-bathroom matter? Or is it the price that is keeping this property on the market?
John Wyman at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.
1700 W. Wilson: 5 bedrooms, 1 bath, 2 half baths, no square footage listed
- Sold in September 1986 (no price available)
- Originally listed in October 2012 for $1.1 million
- Reduced several times
- Currently listed at $749,000
- Taxes of $8813
- No central air- window units only
- 2-car garage
- Wood burning fireplace
- Bedroom #1: 18×13 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 11×11 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 11×11 (second floor)
- Bedroom #4: 13×10 (second floor)
- Bedroom #5: 12×10 (main level)
- Attic: 23×20
I just need to point out that Ravenswood is not part of Uptown, though i have seen maps that put Uptown all the way to the Ravenswood Ave. Anyways, this is a nice neighborhood and street parking isn’t that bad.
It’s a terribly situated nice house (although clearly needs updates). Not much you can do about that. $600k.
@Me, Ravenswood is a neighborhood, that is partially in the Uptown community area:
http://www.cityofchicago.org/dam/city/depts/doit/general/GIS/Chicago_Maps/Community_Areas/Community_Areas_W_Numbers.pdf
The listing states that there is a 2.5-car garage and the aerial appears to confirm that.. am I missing something?
“in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Uptown ”
Sabrina has been doing this blog long enough to know what neighborhood/sub-neigbhorhood/community is which. She might say a condo doesn’t have in-unit w/d when it does, but she knows her hoods. 🙂
Listing says it has a 2.5 car garage, how is parking a problem?
A more fitting kitchen and adding a 2nd shower would help move this
Yes, this place definitely has 2.5 car parking. The headline should read “Do Bathrooms Matter?”
This place is horrid
500k tops
Sorry Sabrina, and to the rest of oyu. I didn’t mean to correct Sabrina on something is technically correct. I guess I felt that Ravenswood is a recognizable enough to not have to include ” in the Uptown neighborhood”. It would be like saying “The Andersonville neighborhood of Edgewater”, . But again, no harm no foul. I’ll keep my personal preferences to myself.
I can’t believe they seriously though this place warranted $1.1 millon. It has potential though. Needs at least one additonal full bath added.
Most of Andersonville is in Edgewater, some is in Uptown.
I’m curious to see what the attic/basement look like, but it’s a (seemingly) nice and spacious house. Bummer about no A/C and only one full bathroom.
I like it. Assuming another full bathroom (or at least a shower) can be added without much trouble, and assuming the immediate hood is fairly nice, this place seems pretty attractive at around $700k or so. Folks seem to pay that much or more for less charming places up in the Irving/NC/LincSq/etc. area.
This home at this price is a steal. I wouldn’t be surprised if it receives multiple offers and there is a bidding war. For all of you doomsayers sitting on the fence hoping prices will drop like a rock can still live in that world. In the meantime real estate has turned and prices are heading up. The economy is in an uptick and is improving. Watch out world, the American juggernaut is waking from a long hibernation! Full steam ahead baby! (don’t pay attention to meaningless data such as a record number of people unemployed and those that are on food stamps).
The good news is that you can afford a lot more house when you’re on food stamps, I mean whats 400 bucks a month at today’s rates? like 100k on a 30 year?
“Watch out world, the American juggernaut is waking from a long hibernation! Full steam ahead baby!”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-20/jpmorgan-said-to-seek-first-sale-of-mortgage-bonds-since-crisis.html
Round and round it goes! Where it stops, nobody knows!
We didn’t learn our lesson the first time, JPMorgan?
Lending standards are quite a bit stricter than 2003-2008, just think of it as a bargain, since you aren’t paying for them with inflation or tax dollars
Beautiful home, but I’m not surprised it wouldn’t go for more than $1 mln considering the fact that Wilson and Paulina isn’t exactly a bucolic location. Ravenswood Manor it’s definitely not. If this house were in Ravenswood Manor, then the $1 mln ask would have been justified, considering how much else it has going for it. But at this location, I have to agree with others who’ve suggested it will go for $600,000 or so. Not a bad deal as long as you don’t expect peace and quiet. It is easy to get from here to downtown on the train, which is nice.
As if to prove my point about the location, the street view photo I just checked shows an articulated CTA bus zooming by. I suppose you can get used to it.
@Dan #2, the 145 bus used to travel down Wilson, as seen in the street view photo, but it has been taken out of service in recent CTA cuts. So there is no worry about hearing the bus there anymore. R.I.P. #145
“Yes, this place definitely has 2.5 car parking. The headline should read “Do Bathrooms Matter?””
Or, does off street parking for 4 cars offset living on Wilson?
Also, this starting at $1.1 was totally nuts, when the Abbott house, on the west corner of the same block, with a bigger house, bigger lot, and rentable coachhouse, only got $1.6m. $750 seems pretty good, but really only if that “updated … Plumbing & electric” was a full update, rather than just of the kitchen and baths–unclear from the listing. I could figure out dealing with the bathroom situation, if I didn’t have to deal with hidden knob’n’tube.
This place is pretty ugly, and location is LOUD and somewhat scruffy. Price needs to come down a bit more.
It’s not a particularly attractive house, and 1 full bath really wouldn’t do it in this price range, or, really, for any SF house selling for more than $400K. Houses of this vintage tend to be really difficult to add a 2nd bath to, because the main bath tends to be large and in the center of the 2nd floor, without many closets you could convert into a 2nd full bath. Without seeing the floor plan, it’s hard to know, but I will bet that the 2 half baths are small and awkwardly situated, and that closet space is wanting.
It also needs a lot of updating and maintenance. I would think $650K would be about the right price. The place has a lot of possibilities, but it will take a couple of hundred thousand dollars to realize them.
So sorry about the mistake on parking! I’ll fix it. Yes- the bathrooms are more of an issue, obviously.
I must have had too much of the wino late last night. 🙂
“Houses of this vintage tend to be really difficult to add a 2nd bath to, because the main bath tends to be large and in the center of the 2nd floor, without many closets you could convert into a 2nd full bath. Without seeing the floor plan, it’s hard to know, but I will bet that the 2 half baths are small and awkwardly situated, and that closet space is wanting. ”
Provided there aren’t flooding issues, put the shower in the basement.
I kinda like the house. It obviously needs quite some updating and at least another shower, but that should be doable.
On the negative side, being located directly on Wilson sucks. Having 1,5 city lots but no real garden is also a bummer.
its a shame they dont highlight the best feature of this house, which is the neighbors right next door. Every Xmas they put out a million lights, and plastic statues and a stereo system that blasts manhien steamrollers Xmas music
Who doesn’t like Mannheim Steamroller?
Too much for the neighborhood.
Downsides: confused styling, stucco is awful in this climate, no real yard, eclectic landscaping won’t appeal to all, directly on Wilson sucks, despite some obvious money spent it’s equally obvious there is even more to spend and one full bath isn’t cutting it.
Upsides: it is NOT particularly overpriced for its size and relatively safe, convenient and charming area (it’s no more “scruffy” than Halsted and Armitage or central Lakeview here besides being quieter, I’ve lived in them all) there’s plenty of room and vintage woodwork in seemingly good shape, the house has undeniable character even if a few find it “ugly” and really what’s better on the market for the money? This feels like a place that just needs the right buyer more so than endless cuts.
Oh and this neighborhood is generally better than Ravenswood Manor (lived there too) except for attributes that tend toward the positively suburban, worth 400K more there? Get off the crack.
How is stucco bad in this climate?
Especially if it has any cracks, stucco isn’t able to endure freeze & thaw cycles without eventually experiencing some damage. Look how little it’s used in the north compared to warmer climates and it’s not only because those areas ten to favor the Mediterranean aesthetic more so than here, but also for practical reasons.
How is this a better neighborhood than ravenswood manor?
Any cement based product is going to have issues if you have water infiltration.
It was used pretty extensively in Mpls/StP, without catastrophic results
If you have dreams of suburbia, it’s not a better neighborhood than Ravenswood Manor. But it is more convenient to the loop (a bit), transit, the lake and most of all things to do such as bars and restaurants. Twenty to twenty five minute walk to Lincoln Square, Andersonville, Southport Corridor and North Center’s commercial area from here. From Ravenswood Manor you’ve got Lincoln Square and a whole lotta nothing unless you’re craving falafel.
Re: stucco in MN, that area is full of Viqueens fans, they’re not known for being smart.