Following the Market Down: 4116 N. Bell in North Center
North Center single family homes are supposed to be in demand, right?
That’s what this seller at 4116 N. Bell must have been thinking in 2007 when this house first went on the market.
However, it’s been on the market over a year and has been reduced $69,000.
Here’s the listing:
Unique reverse floor plan steps from sought-after Coonley school! Entertaining in this beautiful space is a pleasure. Skylight, fireplace and beamed ceiling add to charm. Second fireplace in master.
Wonderful landscaping in backyard and front with vintage custom brick walk. Exterior paint, tuck pointing, roof inspections done within the year. New washer/dryer refrigerator and dishwasher. Best value in the area!
Suzanne Gignilliat at Koenig & Strey has the listing. See more pictures and the virtual tour here.
4116 N. Bell: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2018 square feet, 2 car garage
- Sold in September 1998 for $270,000
- Originally listed in September 2007 for $649,000
- Reduced several times
- Withdrawn in August 2008 at $610,000
- Re-listed in August 2008 at $609,000
- Reduced
- Withdrawn in September 2008 at $599,000
- Re-listed in September 2008 at $580,000
- Currently listed at $580,000
- Taxes are $5,273
- Central Air
Damn, and I’m the one smoking. Must be all the upgrades.
No kidding! Is that white laminate in the kitchen inlaid with diamonds?
Seriously, this place, with this quality, at this location, I’m thinking 450K? The deck, back yard and garage are nice and it looks spacious for a 3/2, but it is still WAY overpriced.
Neighborhood teardowns sold in the mid-$600s in 2006, maybe into early ’07. They priced on that basis, but (obviously) came to market too late.
Also, this would get lost in the forest of new construction for sale on the same block. Maybe a couple have sold or been taken off the market, but at least 8 homes on this block were for sale this summer. Indeed, I can’t even place this house among everything that has been for sale on that block.
Notwithstanding the “sought after” label for Coonley, if this were south of IP in Bell, it would (almost certainly) have sold for over $600k sometime last spring.
it looks like a souped up garage, priced at close to 600k. Wow.
I mean yeah, this is surely a desirable area for the right family, but that price for this property is a joke. I can’t see this being worth over about $450K – if the seller is lucky, they might be able to find someone who can put 20% down and obtain a maximum conforming loan, but even if that were the case they’re still pricing about 10% too high.
Good luck…
A quick title search in ccrd hows at least $400k in mortgages ($304k first and a $100k second), and there may be an additional $86k mortgage as a third? There is no release and the numbers don’t quite match up so it *may* have been refi’d into the first…I can’t tell. It’s the housing ATM!
Wow, $600’s for teardowns. My old building near damen and addison was a teardown in ’05 for the mid-$500’s…of course all the teardowns became luxury 3-flats or luxury million dollar homes. Now that teardowns have slowed to a trickle, maybe, the price of SFHs will crash through the artificial floor set by the teardowns.
You know the seller can’t just give it away!
Ahahaha another idiot who treated their house as their ATM as well as their retirement next egg. Inconspicuous overconsumer welcome to the cold new reality of financial ruin. Please grab your ticket and goto the back of the bailout line along with everyone else.
Is Illinois a recourse state on primary mortgage?
I haven’t seen anything north of IP that was a $600k+ teardown, but I haven’t looked hard at all.
But let’s say they thought the structure was worth $125/ft. So, at the original ask, $250k for the house, $400k for the lot. Seems “reasonable” in early 07 context. The lot has clearly dropped in value–if it dropped 25% (conservative, I think), then the right price is $550k. All it takes to get to $450k as the “right” price is the lot value to have dropped by 50%–which isn’t crazy.
The problem with that pricing (at least wrt to convincing the seller to lower the ask) is that there are similar-sized and smaller condos in the area listed for almost $450k. And, for almost anyone considering the ‘hood, the house is going to be (perceived to be) preferable to the condo by a significant percentage.
Actually, there are condos south of IP (in Bell attendance boundaries) listed for more than $600k. See http://www.cityscapecondos.com/floor-plans
Does anyone know if the seller financed 100% of the purchase in 2007? Is there any equity left to cushion the seller from foreclosure right now?
“if the seller financed 100% of the purchase in 2007”
What 2007 purchase?
As HD notes, there’s either $404k or $490k in liens on the property from the owner who bought in ’98. I think it’s probably just the $404k (unrecorded releases are pretty common), but who knows.
btw, 5%/year since 98 is $439k (thru 9/08).
This is just more proof that the market as a whole is still WAY overpriced and has a long way to fall before it truly becomes the right time to buy.
Well they could start by repainting the interior rooms in more neutral colors, swap the bedroom downstairs with the den with fireplace. Having a door in your bedroom on the ground floor is creepy. Also rip off all the ugly ivy and paint the front step, porch etc. Facade looks tired.
Yes and no. Yes the law says that lenders have recourse against borrowers for deficiencies, but no, as a practical matter, they generally don’t seek deficiencies on primary residences. They will sometimes seek deficiencies for known investment properties and commercial property and in cases of blatant fraud. As a general rule the CH courts are courts of equity and often don’t allow for personal deficiencies….They figure it’s the bank’s fault for lending more than the property is worth and they should eat it if there is a deficiency.
2nd mortgages however are a different matter. The 2nd lien is extinguished in the foreclosure but the note still exists. And they sue on them …. ahem….HSBC…..ahem. The same lender that issues best buy and circuit city credit cards….I’ve been saying that they’re as subprime as you can get… the stock is off 50% of its high but I’m not the gambling type in this crazy market. Supposedly HSBC makes its money in Asia which offsets its north american losses…..yeah right. I don’t know. The article below says they’re taking losses but not nearly as much as other banks. But everywhere I look I see junk consumer/mortgage debt. Of course my view is limited – maybe they only issued junk in IL. You know, they bought subprime household finance and we know how well the acquisition of the prospect hts il based company worked out…
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122630785726913333.html?mod=MKTW#articleTabs%3Darticle
#Ze Carioca on November 13th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Is Illinois a recourse state on primary mortgage?