Get 4200 Square Feet in East Lakeview For Under $500,000: 416 W. Briar
Several of you have e-mailed me about this 5 bedroom duplex down at 416 W. Briar in East Lakeview.
Built in 1918, the four unit building is on an oversized 50×125 lot.
It has 4200 square feet in total space with 3200 square feet on the first floor and a 1000 square feet on the lower level.
An internal staircase connects the two floors but the lower level has a kitchen and a living room along with one bedroom and one bath.
That leaves 4 bedrooms and 2 baths on the main floor.
The unit appears to have some of its vintage features including a beamed ceiling on the first floor.
The main kitchen has white cabinets and appliances.
The listing says “Needs work throughout.”
There is no central air (window units only) but there is in-unit washer/dryer and there is a 35.5×9 deeded tandem parking space.
Originally listed in June 2012 for $450,000 it has recently been raised $44,000 to $494,000.
In a market where everyone wants “new”, will this property be able to snag a buyer?
John Coleman at Baird & Warner has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #1: 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, 4200 square feet, duplex down, 2 car tandem parking
- Sold in May 1995 for $179,500
- Originally listed in June 2012 for $450,000
- Raised
- Currently listed at $494,000
- Assessments of $792 a month
- Taxes of $8956
- No Central Air – window units only
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 13×16 (main floor)
- Bedroom #2: 13×17 (main floor)
- Bedroom #3: 12×13 (main floor)
- Bedroom #4: 9×12 (main floor)
- Bedroom #5: 18×10 (lower level)
Really attractive vintage apartment with a lot of space for the money in a great neighborhood in Lakeview, east of Broadway no less. Even if it is a duplex down, this is a huge amount of space for the money in good condition.
I would think this price would get the sale done.
A question not relating to this thread, so it is fine if people don’t want to answer. BUT . . . I was catching up with old CC listings and I noticed the bronzeville/ gap three bedroom triplex for 179, 000 is a home path property so a buyer can get it for 3% down. What is the purpose behind this? So the government can get yet another person in a property who can’t afford the mortgage? Seriously, the previous owners were also heavily over-leveraged, with 20,000 in back assessments. If you can’t afford to put more than 3% down, you should not be owning real estate, right? You are a renter.
“Seriously, the previous owners were also heavily over-leveraged, with 20,000 in back assessments. If you can’t afford to put more than 3% down, you should not be owning real estate, right? You are a renter.”
Most mortgages are backed by the government right now because the private sector wants 10% or 20% down. Very few have it. So we wouldn’t have a housing market unless there were easier terms. It’s as simple as that.
What percentage of loans are still FHA? I haven’t seen any articles talking about it in awhile.
Nothing about the housing market works like you think it should.
How do cool a *legit 4,200sqft with just window units?
Two kitchens on the lower level and a dining room on the main level? Poor execution of combing two units here.
I don’t understand how the main floor has triple the square footage than the lower level.
It makes me angry that people are allowed to buy with only 3% down. I sacrificed to get my 20% down…although, I’m pretty sure if I recall correctly that a government agency bought my loan, but that it is still serviced by a bank (so I’m confused).
Perhaps more buildings should stop getting approved by the FHA. Although, that would make it even more difficult to sell and then more people would go into foreclosure, so it seems to be a no-win situation.
What is with those assessments? $792 for a 4-flat? That seems outrageous.
Hello – I am the listing agent for 416 W. Briar. It has two kitchens, one on the first floor, and one on the lower level. The lower level was at one time a separate unit. It has one bedroom, a kitchen, a full bathroom, and a good size living room space. The lower level is approximately 1,000 square feet, and the REMAINING part of the lower level is the common basement with storage, furnace, hot water heater and such. Considering rehabbed units of this size on Aldine in the 400 block have sold for OVER $1,000,000 a buyer could purchase this unit and do work and still have potential equity. This is not a unit for every buyer as there are items that need to be addressed with a good contractor. However, it is unique and it’s location is prime. Warm regards, JohnClintonColeman@gmail.com
well GMT, for one its a 4200 sqft place… the assessments include
Heat
Water
Parking
Common Insurance
Exterior Maintenance
Snow Removal
And then add in a few hundred extra for funding the reserve account. Doesn’t seem too crazy.
I really like this place, I love the wide layout compared to most condos today that are built only 15′-20′ wide, this place needs some updating but for now its liveable and the potential for this unit is incredible.
I mean its $117 a square foot in a great location, with only 1/4th of it being in the basement, thats a damn good deal!
The floorplan is on the mls…basically an in-law suite on ground floor/basement level and the all the rest of the living/dining/kitchen/beds upstairs. There aren’t 2 kitchens on lower, just one. This seems like great space and having that inlaw could come in handy for your guests or hell, your nanny.
how much would it cost to put in central air in this place? Is it even possible to do that?
The description says this place needs work throughout. I wonder if it’s cosmetic or if there is some sort of damage. The cosmetic work doesn’t seem too bad (could live with the white kitchen), so I wonder if there’s something lurking behind the walls. I think having the “needs work” comment is a detriment if this place only needs cosmetic work.
I am shocked it hasn’t sold, there’s got to be something more to it. This is tons of space, in liveable condition.
I was expecting something much worse cosmetically when I heard the “needs work throughout” comment. I suspect the work that is required could be substantial mold remediation and/or new electric/plumbing.
“substantial mold remediation and/or new electric/plumbing”
+1 No way this would be listed so cheaply otherwise.
Just heard from someone that saw this place- supposedly a hot mess. Needs a HUGE amount of work.
Like what, dizzy? Just curious.
The pictures look atrocious if you look closely. I don’t think it is a bad camera or bad photos, but really that the place needs WORK. Photo #2, spots on the ceiling look like water damage…Photo #4, looks like issues where the bay meets the regular wall, etc. Original windows, I am sure original electric, this place is not move in ready in my mind….
As if the pipes running through the second picture of the kitchen weren’t bad enough, the food piled everywhere and ice trays and random crap screams hoarder to me. My guess is that is massively picked up for pictures and still in need of a lot of help!
I love the space and building and location…but this is not a quick fix place!
“Hello – I am the listing agent for 416 W. Briar. It has two kitchens, one on the first floor, and one on the lower level. The lower level was at one time a separate unit. It has one bedroom, a kitchen, a full bathroom, and a good size living room space. The lower level is approximately 1,000 square feet, and the REMAINING part of the lower level is the common basement with storage, furnace, hot water heater and such. Considering rehabbed units of this size on Aldine in the 400 block have sold for OVER $1,000,000 a buyer could purchase this unit and do work and still have potential equity. This is not a unit for every buyer as there are items that need to be addressed with a good contractor. However, it is unique and it’s location is prime.”
Thanks for checking in John and clearing up some misperceptions on this property.
Pump 200k into this and you can have yourself a huge, nice unit.
asbestos-covered pipes in the basement FTW.
Jenny, it makes me angry people are allowed to buy with 3.5% down now that we know where this leads, which is to endless foreclosures and delinquencies and artificially elevated prices.
Last I read, just a few days ago, foreclosures in process and “serious” delinquencies among FHA borrowers were 9%, with years 2008-2010 vintage mortgages being especially troubled. Surprise surprise- these were the years of the $8000 tax credit for new buyers, who were underwritten for FOUR TIMES their incomes, the better to keep those prices elevated at 2007 or 2006 levels.
The whole home-ownership subsidy hairball makes me boil. How dare its promoters pretend to be helping lower middle and middle income homeowners, when the net effect is to drive up prices beyond the range of real affordability and saddle these same buyers with outrageous housing costs and payments that are nearly half their take-home incomes! The subsidies are all fraudulent in that they not only make everyone, whether renters, cash buyers, or the true poor, pay for something from which they derive no benefit, but are frauds on their own terms.
Take the mortgage interest deduction (PLEASE take it)- what a fraud! When people ask me why I so desire to pay cash for a small, modest vintage condo when I could get such a great tax break by going bigger and borrowing to the hilt, I refer them to a couple of tables, readily available online. One is a simple mortgage calculator that I installed on my home page just to remind myself of what a place will end up costing me if I elect to finance, and the other is a chart showing you just what your savings will be for your income and mortgage- you just input your income, your mortgage, your interest, and it will tell you exactly what your tax savings will be.
Surprise! It doesn’t matter whether you input, as I did, a $50K income, a mortgage of $100,000 at 4% interest over 15, or an income of $500K and a $1.5M mortgage at 5.5% over 30 years, you will always, always pay about 4X as much in interest as you get back on taxes, at best. I played with a lot of different figures just to see if it could be made to work out favorably and it does not.
Looks to me like the less house debt you take on, the further you get, and the faster. I truly believe that getting this society back on a mostly cash basis would do a lot more to improve the economy for a much longer time, than encouraging more economically shaky people to take out more mortgages they can barely afford.
Laura, good plan and i agree that a modest mortgage or cash purcase is a GREAT idea for many people.
To further explain your point the intest deduction is pretty sumple. The reason that you only get back a percentage of what you spend on interest is that you essentially are just lowering your taxable “gross income” to arrive at your “net income” which is what your actual tax is based on. It is the same concept with all deductions that can be itemized until you hit the AMT or alternative minimum tax rate which I hit in 2011 despite only deducting legitimate expenses.
For all those camping out on the idea that the top earners don’t already pay enough….think again. Once they are raised again and again it will cut into spending habits that keep many many people employed. And i’m not just talking people working at Charlie Trotters and fancy Oak St. Fashion boutiques. Note the correlation of high earners raising their savings lately? That is not coincidental.
Trudi –
It DID sell. It sold right away. Then it came back on the market. I can only guess the buyer had the inspection and deemed the work out of their realm of expertise. Or maybe there was a problem with getting financing on it. It definitely needs work. But an excellent investment for someone with the know-how to fix it up. I wish I had the liquidity today to jump on this… an incredible opportunity. And by the way I have no ties to this listing, so saying that in no way benefits me.
While it is an opportunity for a real good contractor it is not a great choice for the average rehabber. It is clear that this is a total “gut to the studs” project. New HVAC, Electric, and plumbing. Design a new kitchen and completely replace the baths. Most of the moulding and the exterior doors seem to be deteriorated as well. Big job! Because of the location there is still potential upside to a project of that scale.
I suspect that there is a more serious structural water infiltration issue and other exterior maintenance that has been delayed. Will the other unit owners chip in the fair share for those repairs? I’d bet not when their assessments are already this high! That means that this unit will have to bear the cost of what should otherwise be common area remodeling projects.
Might be best to turn this back into two low price slightly rehabbed units.
I doubt that the other units assessments are “this high”. It appears (to me) like one other unit might be a full floor, and the two others each a half floor, so the costs might be split along the lines of: 40%/ 30%; 15%; 15%
“Will the other unit owners chip in the fair share for those repairs? I’d bet not when their assessments are already this high! That means that this unit will have to bear the cost of what should otherwise be common area remodeling projects.”
First, I want to say it is exciting to see all the comments, and I love the fact this property is on Crib Chatter!
Second, my job is to represent the seller, and with that I want to let you all know that the SELLER cancelled the contract! Just so you know the facts. (After all, wouldn’t you want better representation of your property if you had it listed and individuals were speculating.)
If you have questions specifically about the unit, I would be happy to answer them as I am the listing agent. Speculation about what is wrong with the unit is just that SPECULATION.
Please know the property does need work, but considering the location, size, and value, it is a great property to purchase. It is SOLID STEEL beam construction. There are two “I” beams that run from the front to the back of the unit with Steel “I” beam supports ever 12’/13′ or so. Another steel beam runs across the front 1/3 of the building. You have 2-3 feet of SOLID brick walls. With that been said, it has it’s own unique quarks.
The building has two units on the second floor, and the front unit sold and closed for $310,000 in 2011. That is one half of a floor. So considering how much space the entire first floor has and 1/3 of the lower level, I think you can see how much value there really is in the space.
Also, for comparison, similar sized units in the 400 block of Aldine have sold and closed for $1,200,00 another for $1,400,000 and another is on the market for $1,500,000 for the same square footage. Please note these are completely rehabbed properties. The ability to purchase this much space and create your own home is amazing. Units this size are available in CO-OP with monthly assessments in the $2,000- 3,500.
This property also puts you in the Nettelhorst School district. A very desirable school.
Finally, I want to tell you I did end up seeing the third floor unit, and it is really amazing. They have an updated kitchen. They also have their own central air system. That might be an option for the first floor unit owner as well.
1st floor and Lower level is 39% ownership
2nd floor both units have 15 1/2% each
3rd floor has 30% ownership
If you would like to see the property I would be happy to arrange a showing for you.
Warm regards,
John
JohnClintonColeman@gmail.com
Listing agent for 416 W. Briar 1
Baird & Warner Real Estate
I have to commend John the realtor on his feedback to this thread. I am a bit shocked that more agents do not respond to comments on this site about their listings. I think that they are made aware before Sabrina puts up the post. Is that correct Sabrina? Has any agent ever asked you not to post the property?
Perhaps they do not respond because they just want it to go away quickly.
As a lesson to other realtors in this example john actually added value and showed that he knew the quirks of the building. It was a great response and changed my opinion of this property.
Bravo John! Keep up the great work.
“I have to commend John the realtor on his feedback to this thread. I am a bit shocked that more agents do not respond to comments on this site about their listings. I think that they are made aware before Sabrina puts up the post. Is that correct Sabrina? Has any agent ever asked you not to post the property?”
The realtor is usually NOT aware the property is going on Crib Chatter unless I write them ahead of time and ask to use the interior photos. There are many times when I write the agent about the property where they just don’t respond and think if they don’t, then the property won’t show up on the site (which actually isn’t true.) It just means I will take some pictures myself (which rarely turn out as good as the realtor’s pictures) so I don’t know understand why they don’t want the publicity with the better pictures. But then those won’t have the interior pics.
As for agents asking me NOT to post on a property- no, I’ve never had that happen BEFORE I post on it. I’ve had a few agents over the years ask me to remove a post after the fact (for a variety of reasons.) I’ve removed only 3 properties in the 5 years I’ve been running the site. The agent’s complaint has to be more than “they’re saying mean things about the property”.
“As a lesson to other realtors in this example john actually added value and showed that he knew the quirks of the building. It was a great response and changed my opinion of this property.”
I agree with jp3chicago. It’s very helpful to have the agent post here and tell us what is what about the property (especially a vintage property like this one).
Thank you John.
Thanks Sabrina. I could imagine that a few realtors have complained over the years. Many of our threads get pretty rough on a property. I suspect that it could give a few buyers cold feet or become an obstacle to someone who has already placed an offer.
More realtors should be as gifted as John in creating a response. It is the same with a reply from a business owner on Yelp or Trip Advisor etc. You can learn a lot by the way the owner or manager responds to a constructive criticism or a negative review of the business.