For $200K, You Can Get a 2-Bedroom Bungalow in River Forest: 232 Lathrop
We were recently chattering about a 3-bedroom Portage Park bungalow which was an estate sale but which had good vintage bones. It was listed at $199,000.
See our prior chatter here.
This 2-bedroom “never touched bungalow” at 232 Lathrop in River Forest just came on the market. It is listed for $200,000.
Like the Portage Park house, it is also an estate sale and also has its original vintage features, which includes stained glass and crown molding.
The house also has an unfinished basement.
There is no central air but there is a 2 car garage on a 35×180 lot.
Is this a deal?
Marcee Gavula at Baird & Warner has the listing. See the pictures here.
232 Lathrop: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, no square footage listed, 2 car garage
- I couldn’t find an original price. The listing says it’s been in the same family for forever.
- Currently listed for $200,000
- Taxes of $7362 (senior exemption)
- No central air
- Bedroom #1: 12×12
- Bedroom #2: 12×12
Haha…I saw this property the other day as potential purchase for my family. Yes, it’s a great deal but who knows where the price will end up after the bidding war…there were about 3 other parties viewing it while I was there. The property has orignal heating oil tanks in the basement, which I’ve been told can be a barrier to conventional and FHA financing. Russ could probably clarify whether or not that would be an issue. I’m guessing a cash buyer will get this one.
Is this in a nice area? I thought R.F. was really expensive.
I dig it!
If you guys want to see how cheap real estate is in some parts of the USA check out some properties in Utah, Salt Lake area… holy cow you can get a 6 bedroom 4 bathroom 2800sqft house with a yard there and a good school for under 200k!
I’d rather raise a family there than in some 2 bedroom un-air conditioned dump in river forest with 1 bathroom and RIDICULOUS taxes. Just say no to the burbs here.
“holy cow you can get a 6 bedroom 4 bathroom 2800sqft house with a yard there and a good school for under 200k!”
I find 19 in the whole state. 3 in reasonable range of central SLC.
And do you actually know the schools are good?
fine bring your search down to 4 bedrooms and 2 baths and there’s thousands… and yes the schools are good, property taxes are low and crime is almost non existant. But then again, you’d have to tell people you live in Utah
“But then again, you’d have to tell people you live in Utah”
I’ve never been one who cares what others think of me so this wouldn’t be a stickler for me. Actually living in Utah would be.
Meh, I like the mountains and with all the money i’d save I could afford a few really nice cars and other toys
Hey, you know where you can get a house for FREE? Centralia, PA There’s no schools, though. Or anything else.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania
(Salt Lake City is gorgeous, but boooooring)
“fine bring your search down to 4 bedrooms and 2 baths and there’s thousands… and yes the schools are good, property taxes are low and crime is almost non existant. But then again, you’d have to tell people you live in Utah”
And all the beer is 3.2.
there are thousands* of 4/2s in metro Chicago available for under $200k, too. And Trulia shows 830 4+/2+ SFHs in metro SLC for under $200k. And they’re grouped in teh less desirable parts of town.
Denver’s a better option on that front, imo.
*maybe only about 2,000, but that’s still thousands.
meh whatever my original point is that it still beats living in a dump in a 2/1 in river forest with no AC and taxes of 7.6k a year
Meant to add – Boise is as pretty as SLC and way more fun.
“Is this in a nice area? I thought R.F. was really expensive.”
Clio in our search i found south of lake the prices do drop and its more of a Park Forest look and vibe going (which isnt a bad thing) but even with the low home costs the taxes there are still KILLER.
so even a low sale price your yearly property tax does make it an expensive place.
“And they’re grouped in teh less desirable parts of town.”
the less desireable parts of SLC is still much much much better than probably 90% of those under 200k houses around here and living in the “less desireable” parts of Chicago where you could get hit with drive by shootings, or randomly killed for the $40 in your pocket
“the less desireable parts of SLC is still much much much better than probably 90% of those under 200k houses around here and living in the “less desireable” parts of Chicago where you could get hit with drive by shootings, or randomly killed for the $40 in your pocket”
Course, in SLC, the neighbor probably has a meth lab.
And, did I mention the beer is 3.2?
“And all the beer is 3.2.”
Thats 3.2 by weight, so ~4% by volume. And it only applies to bars and grocery stores.
There no practical difference to your Joe/Jane Sixpack mass market light beer drinker (watered down from 4.2 to 4.0), which is probably the largest market segment.
If we’re going for broke why not use eastern Pennsylvania as an example: the high RE prices of the BoWash corridor coupled with the most restrictive alcohol laws in the country.
taxes are high but the schools are close to the best in the state. streets are clean, crime is non existent. so you get what you pay for.
“meh whatever my original point is that it still beats living in a dump in a 2/1 in river forest with no AC and taxes of 7.6k a year”
Point duly noted. Its properties like this that give me a chuckle. People still think there’s rust belt paychecks out there to support these rust-belt valuations on all this housing stock that was built in more prosperous times. Rustbelt jobs are never coming back.
WestloopElo,
need help with an estimate for upgrading this place?
i think 50-75k of average work and this would be a perfect starter home for a couple looking to start having a family. and a great area for a family too.
the best part is with the reno if you future proof you could plumb up so later you can build a second level if you dont want to move out the starter home and make it your life time home.
its just a wonderful area to live.
If I had a house with a basement and a yard, i’d brew my own beer… or join the beer of the month club 🙂
re: taxes.
The Assessor’s market value for the place is $400k. If this sells remotely close to ask, it should be a slamdunk appeal.
“The Assessor’s market value for the place is $400k. If this sells remotely close to ask, it should be a slamdunk appeal.”
so say what 6k a year until they raise them in november 🙂
thanks groove for the info (re: R.F. housing boundaries/prices)
“so say what 6k a year until they raise them in november”
If the MV were halved, the taxes would be about 50% off, slightly higher w/o teh senior exemption. So, more like $4k. Until November.
you all see this?
http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2010/09/16/wheres-the-foreclosure-flood/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wsj%2Fdevelopments%2Ffeed+%28WSJ.com%3A+Developments+Blog%29
Skeptic,
Thanks for the link-very interesting! I wonder what HD thinks of this?
Groove: you mean Forest Park, not Park Forest (post-war south suburb), but south River Forest is far nicer than the nicest part of Forest Park on a sunny day. Plus, FP has Proviso East, which is equivalent of any bad CPS HS there is.
I saw this house; it’s an outstanding deal and the house has great bones.
The comments about Utah are a little out of date.
While $200k might not buy a decent SFH in a nice part of SLC, $300ish might (and would certainly buy a very nice townhome). As for the booze issue, it really has improved tremendously in the last 20 years. My first trip there was back around 93 (couch surfed for a few weeks in Sandy and rode the Bird and Solitude): we brought (from Colorado) a keg of microbrew and a few cases of other nice beers, among other things, for which we were told we’d receive a hero’s welcome…and we did. I was in Park City a month ago, and it was just like being in a cool mountain resort town in any other state, only bigger, richer and much closer to a major airport.
“I was in Park City a month ago”
SLC still isn’t Park City, and if decent 6/4s were available in PC, proper, I’d likely be moving.
Have any of you ever been to SLC?!? The downtown is dominated by Mormon church buildings, there’s low walkability due to extra-wide streets and car-centric city planning, and yes, there are plenty of poor/sketchy parts of town (big meth problem.) And there are not a lot of well paying jobs. And it has the highest rate of corporate fraud in America. And the schools are overcrowded and not very good. My brother’s family was out there in a $600k house a couple of years ago, and boy were they happy when he got transferred.
I was in Alta a few years back and there was plenty of beer available, including local microbrews. I really appreciated the snowboarder ban there, btw. It sounds like the 3.2 beer thing is greatly exaggerated. I found this:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/335007968/Weakness-of-Utah-beer-greatly-exaggerated.html
“couch surfed for a few weeks in Sandy and rode the Bird and Solitude”
Then again, the comments section of the link I posted supports the beer experts on here. But dh, who generally likes to sip stouts and ales when he’s not home drinking Budweiser or Coors light, enjoyed the microbrews there.
“I really appreciated the snowboarder ban there,”
I used to hate on the snowboarders as a nuisance generally. Until I realized they bring most of the weed to the ski resort bars to smoke. And free weed trumps my cultural reservations and annoyance factor. And some of them are hot too.
BYOBud and avoid the riffraff. Much better skiing on weed than booze.
“I used to hate on the snowboarders as a nuisance generally. Until I realized they bring most of the weed to the ski resort bars to smoke. And free weed trumps my cultural reservations and annoyance factor. And some of them are hot too.”
This is exactly the type of place I love getting a hold of as there are so many positives and very few negatives of purchasing a one owner family home that has been well maintained over it’s life.
As Groove pointed out above, one could take the unfinished floor and add on bedrooms and baths as your family grows. In this raw (unrenovated) condition, a buyer is able to see the home as it was built and any flaws, major or minor, would be easy to spot and repair.
These places are very solidly constructed and once it has been gone over by a pro renovator (or an experienced DIYer) little more would need to be done.
I would estimate, just on the poor photos accompanying the lisitng, that $50 – 70k would be a GREAT start. That amount would provide a upper mid range kitchen, bath, wall paper removal followed by primer & paint. Rehabbing all of those hard to find period wood features (IF needed), floors included would restore so much of the original character.
I think it is every pro renovators dream to find one owner homes as they more than likely maintained them in a genuine ‘pride of ownership’ way that was very common a few decades ago when an entire 2 or 3 generations of the same family would call it home.
I REALLY like this place (reminds me of my current bungalow reno project in Denver, only on a smaller scale. I think I will be sending a family member out to take a look at it this week as the end result will be a real beauty of a place and would be just the project needed to get us back in town to resume our work.
For all of those ‘wait and see’ people cruising CC, THIS is the type of place to invest in for a good 10-20 years timeframe.
Re: the higher taxes, this would be a great deterrent for a half assed investor (flipper) as to resell it after ‘minor’ cosmetic improvements would take a good amount of skill and experience in renovations to get it sold while still gaining a profit.
Perfect find Sabrina…keep these types of places featured as you would be doing the Chicago RE market a huge favor by pushing it back on it’s path to recovery.
Should any CC reader or their friends purchase this place (before I could score it) please keep us updated on the renovations. I would love to follow it’s progress as there would be some very useful information gained from it’s short and most likely pain free path back to it’s original glory.
Great find!!
Just wanted to add, there appears to be no water damage or mold issues or any signs of ceiling repairs. Wood floors seem to be in excellent condition just crying out for a good sanding and a few coats of poly.
I wanted to add, put another $10-15k on the reno price to add a privacy fence and to spruce up the landscaping and sidewalks leading up to the front door and away from the back door. That size of backyard is perfect for a novice to conduct some experimenting on…not too much and not too little a space for a great spring / summer project once the interior is brought up to date.
Didn’t the Utah liquor laws get liberalized around the time of the 1992 Olympics and its attendant crowds of booze-seeking spectators?
What I find amusing about SLC is that it’s the home of the “Jazz” NBA team (relo from NOLA) and hardly any jazz music clubs. Maybe they should’ve renamed the team the “Choir” or the “Osmonds?”
Then again, there’s Sundance.
WeLo; good fences make good neighbors, but if it’s a neighborly neighborhood, the last thing you want to do is put up a “privacy fence” on the sides of the lot. New people to the south of me did that, putting their “privacy fence” right up to the existing low chain link that the entire rest of the block had, over a decade ago. That fence killed my entire sunny perennial border plantings. When I stated my regret that the sun would now be restricted on my side, the owner said to me, “well, your plants were the last thing on our mind when we decided to build a fence.” Everyone on the block HATES those people. They turned their house into some kind of glorified compound. Privacy fences suck.
I understand what you are saying logan, but to me a yard that is that narrow makes it seem as though it is a ‘communal’ backyard and everything yuo do is on full display to your neighbors. Also, if I am going to invest a good amount of time, $ and effort into building a nice yard (and home), my likes/dislikes and priorities/wants definately will come before those of my neighbors.
Do I appreciate the response you received from your neighbors? Of course not, as I think it could have been handled in a better manner with them informing you of the reasons why the fence was needed or wanted.
As far as privacy fences ‘sucking’, I disagree as they can provide a nice and much needed ‘frame’ to the landscaping or other work that has been done in order to improve YOUR property. Spending $200k in addition to the nearly $100k to update the home entitles the new owner to do as they see fit for their property. The flip side of this would be a buyer who could care less how their yard looks to their neighbors and doesn’t do a thing to improve it….would said fences still suck?
It’s not what you do or say it is how you go about saying or doing it.
Sorry, can’t agree with you there. If I spend the extra money on a single family home, I expect some outdoor privacy. Maybe I want to have my coffee outside in my robe and without makeup without being scrutinized by my neighbors. If they can’t understand that, they aren’t being very neighborly IMO.
“good fences make good neighbors, but if it’s a neighborly neighborhood, the last thing you want to do is put up a “privacy fence” on the sides of the lot.”
I doubt this house has any neighborhood covenants like my suburban subdivision in regards to fences. Our homeowners association spent two years and lots of attorney fees on disputing a fence somebody decided to slap up without permission. Got real nasty. My backyard has plenty of privacy landscaping and a grandfathered fence, but in general the subdivision is going for the parklike atmosphere, particularly on the interior lots.
“It’s not what you do or say it is how you go about saying or doing it.”
Hey westloopelo (or whoever else might know the answer to this) –
I looked at a foreclosure yesterday – love it.
Problem is that it’s pretty much been ravaged (no appliances, other signs of wear & tear…) – that I can live with since I would want to redo most things. HOWEVER, there’s clear evidence of mold on the lower floor (basement, but partially above grade). For a 4 story home, what would I need to do/spend to fix that? I don’t imagine it is an easy or inexpensive fix. It’s a beautiful home (brick/stone exterior) but I would like to know what I am getting into. Thanks in advance – Jon.
“Sorry, can’t agree with you there. If I spend the extra money on a single family home, I expect some outdoor privacy. Maybe I want to have my coffee outside in my robe and without makeup without being scrutinized by my neighbors. If they can’t understand that, they aren’t being very neighborly IMO.”
That’s why you have a rooftop deck for that. Although in the city I could see other benefits from a fence: keeping out drunks, potential thieves and peoples pets who may seek to use your lawn as a bathroom. Drunks probably not issues in the ‘burbs and thieves not as much–but keeping people’s pets out? Probably a huge reason to have a fence.
Jon,
I have dealt with similar problems in a few houses. The price of mold remediation/removal varies wildly depending on the amount, type, etc. If you really like the house, I would definitely get a few estimates. It will not be that expensive to get these estimates and could save you thousands of dollars (and a lot of headache).
“I was in Alta a few years back and there was plenty of beer available, including local microbrews. I really appreciated the snowboarder ban there, btw.”
Juliana, a few things:
1) I realize that I wrote “rode the Bird and Solitude,” but so that you can avoid future humiliation in front of certain skiiers, bear in mind that plenty of modern skiers (i.e., free-skiers and tele skiers) often refer to their activity as “riding,” and not strictly “skiing.”
2) I can relate to your appreciation of the snowboard ban at Alta. Personally, I often wish that I could be the lone snowboarder at a resort. (I hate to say it, but I almost wish that Deer Valley would grant/sell lifetime variances to a select group of snowboarders, the receipt of which would require certain on-snow tests, solid educational/professional credentials and references, and the sponsorship of an established Deer Valley property owner and pass holder, much like entry into an exclusive country club.)
But I think what both you and I actually desire is a ban on teenage/young 20-something males. That’s really what’s at issue. I started snowboarding in 1985 – and at an actual ski area in the 86/87 season. For those first couple of years at a small area in NY state, and even for my first season in CO, my on snow peers were necessarily skiers. I “rode” with the best skiers at that little area back east, and then lived, worked and rode with the best skiers in the first ski town to which I moved in CO. Trust me: they were no altar boys. The fact is, by around 93, snowboarding had really overtaken skiing in terms of popularity among young people. By 1998, no young person, when given the choice, was opting to take up skiing over snowboarding. Had it not been for the advent of free skiing (which borrowed heavily from snowboarding for its style/fashion, maneuvers and technological advances, e.g., shaped and twin tip skis), skiing was on the road to extinction. Today, skiing is enjoying a great revival…but it’s certainly not owed to the likes of those responsible for and appreciative of the snowboarding bans at Alta or Deer Valley.
I can’t imagine calling skiing riding, but I’ve been skiing since the 70s and I guess you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Guess I should watch a few Warren Miller movies to catch up with the lingo. I remember when snowboarders first started showing up on the slopes and having a conversation on a chairlift with this woman who was complaining about the attitudes and the backward caps. I thought she was off base since most of them seemed to keep out of my way.
The final blow to my respect for the out of control snowboarders who insist on following their buddies down black runs was when one took me out and sent me sailing through the air as he came screaming from above out of nowhere at Breckenridge. Cut my vacation short although thankfully nothing was broken. I’m not used to falling and that one shook me up enough that for a few years I was always the last one in our group to reach the chairlift. Only recently has my self respect forced me to pick up speed again. No way is my sister going to show me up. It seems to me that most skiers have the sense to stay on the beginner/intermediate slopes until they are ready or are so slowly traversing across the black runs that they are easy to navigate.
My daughter, who has been skiing since she was 2, is hoping to take up snowboarding during her college years in Colorado. I can’t figure out why somebody who is so comfortable on skis would want to start over again, but I guess its old dog syndrome.
“I realize that I wrote “rode the Bird and Solitude,” but so that you can avoid future humiliation in front of certain skiiers, bear in mind that plenty of modern skiers (i.e., free-skiers and tele skiers) often refer to their activity as “riding,” and not strictly “skiing.””
Jon,
Mold is a very difficult problem to remedy without a major expense being incurred and a professionally trained expert being involved.
Is there a disclosure attached telling the extent of the problem or was it recently discovered because of neglect due to the foreclosure?
Regardless, have a company come out and inspect it…you could help by beginning the demo process… gutting the areas where the mold is occuring.
Since this is on the lower level of a 4 story home, I imagine the source is an internal leak and it might not be widespread as it would be if it were on the top floor and the roof was damaged. A few questions…Is there a sump pump installed and if so is it working? you say the mold is above grade…in looking at the exterior, do you see a break in the foundation near the mold? Evidence of leaking out side water/sewer damage? Since it is a brick home, chances are it is being caused by an internal leak (easy fix with a plumber being called in for a through inspection) or the sump pump did not work and drainage was an issue at some point. Is it located near where the bathroom inflow/drainage lines run?
Finding out the source is the first thing to be addressed and a professional specializing in correting mold will be able to tell you this. Fix the source of the mold then proceed in demoing the drywall to repair/rid yourself of the problem then eliminate the interior damage caused. Again allow a professional mold elimination company to determine the source and advise you on how to proceed.
I would not be overly concerned to the point of it being a real deal breaker (again it not being on the top floor… no major roof issues) as you plan on doing reno work on it anyway. Tearing up/replacing the drywall is easy (might even allow you to reconfigure the floorplan if so desired/needed) and it needs to be done to put an end to this problem.
Thanks for the response Westloopelo – I will keep you posted. I love the property so I’ll be seeing it more and pursuing it. Right now, it’s not priced where I think it should be for a moldy foreclosure that’s been neglected for over a year, but who knows?
It would either be the best thing ever or the biggest mistake of my real estate life 🙂
Jon, is the mold in the basement? Could the mold be the result of a basement flood due to rainwater or sewer back-up? Such basement flooding is common in Chicagoland. Years ago, Chicagoans would clean up after a flood, do some limited toss out of water-damaged freestanding personal property, but less likely to remove soaked wallboard and items, causing mold conditions and musty smells. Basement can be gutted, removing wallboard, carpeting/wood flooring, stored items, etc, foundations cracks repaired and floor drains capped with screw-down covers, and thoroughly cleaned and rebuilt as semi-finished storage space without much cost or effort. I personally dislike any living space in basements, precisely because basements tend to be damp, subject to flooding, and not intended for human habitation.
If there is mold in the house itself, track water source. Infiltration and leaks can be repaired, damaged materials torn out and rebuilt, and odor/mold abated. It’s not that big of a deal. However, if house had a substantial prolonged leak and there is extensive mold throughout the house, then you’re looking at a full interior demolition and significant costs for rebuilding house interior. Several years ago, there was a house in Oak Park with a severe mold problem due to improper installation of replacement windows, where rainwater had penetrating all the wall areas and house required a full interior demo – and was priced accordingly. These houses are salvageable, but need professional attention.
Good luck!
Sold on October 15 for cash at $200k list price.
“The Assessor’s market value for the place is $400k. If this sells remotely close to ask, it should be a slamdunk appeal.”
anon (tfo) — So is the process of appealing property taxes pretty easy if you buy a property substantially below the county’s estimated market value? Is the process easy enough for a homeowner to do on their own? I might be looking into this appealing a property’s taxes under these circumstances soon.
“So is the process of appealing property taxes pretty easy if you buy a property substantially below the county’s estimated market value? Is the process easy enough for a homeowner to do on their own? I might be looking into this appealing a property’s taxes under these circumstances soon.”
As G notes elsewhere today, you need a current appraisal, too. The process is easy enough to do yourself, but set up so you are much more likely to prevail if you use someone who knows someone–like much of Cook County government.