Get a 2-Bedroom Cottage in Lakeview for Under $400,000: 3041 N. Honore
Some of the smaller homes in Lakeview are, well, fixer uppers. This 2-bedroom vintage home at 3041 N. Honore appears to be move in ready.
It even has a front porch with a swing.
The two bedrooms are upstairs and have skylights.
The kitchen has white cabinets, granite counter tops and a tile black splash. There are also white appliances.
The listing says the first floor powder room has been renovated with an antique wood cabinet and granite counter top.
The backyard is lush and looks to be perfect for a gardener (yes that is the Metra train line at the back of the property.)
The house has central air and an unfinished basement. However, there is no parking (street parking only.)
Is this a good condo alternative?
Kris Mork at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See the pictures here.
3041 N. Honore: 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, no square footage listed
- Sold in February 1997 for $102,500
- Sold in June 2003 for $310,000
- Currently listed for $379,900
- Taxes of $4446
- Central Air
- No parking
- Bedroom #1: 11×13
- Bedroom #2: 10×13
- Unfinished basement
I’m torn on this listing. On the one hand, I think, good deal — a house for the price of a condo in the same area, especially given the probems with condos as discussed recently on Crib Chatter. On the other hand, I look at the 1997 sale price and think, the price nearly QUADRUPLED in 12 years, despite the supposed “crash,” and I’m reminded that everything is still overpriced given that it could be a lot longer than 12 years before this thing even doubles in price.
this would qualify as northcostcoland? 03 price is looking good for this; anon will let us know if the schools are good. train is a neg but metra is quieter and zooms by.
97 price is pre-renovation tack on 50K-75K if they addressed what they should have.
This house is in North Costco, right on the tracks and is tiny so why on earth is it a deal at just under 400k…
Oh yeah did I mention no parking either?
why do they build SFH’s without garages?
People like anon will think its a deal cuz they believe land values in NorthCostco are worth 300k per lot even though without funny financing it would be closer to 100k for the lot. 400k to live right on the metra tracks? some idiot might bite.
I may be wrong (usually am) but from looking at the pictures it look like the 2003 seller did the updating/renovations even the afterthought of a back porch.
So why does this seller get over the 2003 price when all they did since then was paint and do maintenance?
I could get on board with the 375k price if the basement was finished, the skylights had built in shades (instead of pillows to block the sun), it had a garage, if something was done in the back like a patio or a decent porch, the didnt suck up linen space with the stackable washer dryer (use the basement for the laundry).
i go nap now
that brick wall on the side of the subject lot actually gives greater privacy. On one side, it’s not a bad thing.
PS a quick OT rehab question…
what is standard finish for Chicago condo brand-new red oak floors?? For resale what is preferred? matte, satin, semi-gloss, gloss, or high-gloss? Thanks much….
“People like anon will think its a deal cuz they believe land values in NorthCostco are worth 300k per lot even though without funny financing it would be closer to 100k for the lot. ”
Drinking and watching footie, I see.
No, I don’t think they are “worth” $300k, but I think that’s what they’re still selling for. Not this one, tho, as no alley access sux. Structure’s worth ~$150k, meaning their asking about $200k for the lot.
On the school, it’s Jahn, so *not* desirable.
I really like it, especially considered against the typical 2/2 condo in that price range in the general nearby areas. Having the Metra in your backyard without any access to it is kind of a bummer. I don’t have too good of an idea how much noise it makes, but first instinct is that it goes pretty quick right around here.
The basement is great. God damn, I love basements. Put a beer fridge, workbench and old tube TV down there and all would be well with my world.
“The basement is great. God damn, I love basements. ”
Missed the pic the first time–are those joists 24″ apart? And, based on the water heater, much of that basement doesn’t have much clearance, altho that light from the windows is pretty great–good pic of an unfinished basement.
A friend bought, remodelled, and flipped another of these exact cottages in 1988. Tiny, tiny, tiny. Brings back memories.
Sell the car, use a folding grocery cart to go to Whole Foods and bicycle carrier baskets for Trader Joe. Take El everywhere; grow crops and small livestock in backyard. South wall of brick building to north creates a temperate micro-climate. This house could demonstrate the new urban farmer lifestyle.
Architect: “This house could demonstrate the new urban farmer lifestyle.”
My main impetus for wanting to purchase a SFH is to have a working garden (and to be able to have dogs). I currently have a pretty decent container garden on my apartment balcony, with southeast exposure. I have a bunch of tomatoes, peppers, onions, and various herbs.
But I’d like to get really hardcore with the gardening. I mean, to the point where there is no lawn to mow.
Thats why danny for green thumbs there are things called the suburbs and lower cost of living cities. I hear Detroit has ample urban land available for an aspiring urban renaissance “farmer”.
Not so sure you could house some livestock, however, without violating a few city ordinances. Something about sanitation and health.
Its definitely a cottage. But its also listed at 400k–I don’t consider this to be a cottage price. My guess is 300k with normal financing or any arbitrary value for funny money financing (less than 20% down).
We know who is going to buy this–its going to be someone with big visions of their green shoe future in the city to compensate for their small downpayment. FHA all the way!
Renovated or not, the 1997 price is all you need to know about price inflation in the ‘green zone’ during the bubble. I could have bought this place in college for $102,000 off my part-time earnings and rented the second bedroom to a roommate.
$389,000 is a sick, sick joke; and yet all it takes is one greater fool to pay the price. Fortunately the market is running out of greater fools.
This area was definitely not considered the “green zone” in 1997.
So when exactly did the neighborhood change? The intersection of ashland, lincoln and belmont has been developed for as long as I can remember and I’ve been living here since ’95.
“I could have bought this place in college for $102,000 off my part-time earnings and rented the second bedroom to a roommate. ”
1. You were making of $30k part time in college? Why’d you go to law school again?
2. ’97 was before the real funny money appeared. You wouldn’t have gotten the loan.
3. If you think this place was in its current condition in ’97, you’d be sadly, sadly mistaken.
“This area was definitely not considered the “green zone” in 1997.”
I wouldn’t call it that now. It’s a fine area, but a tweener ‘hood–certainly an area to consider living, but probably not someone’s first choice. In ’97 it was only slightly different–more run down and a fair amount of (in use) industrial property nearby. But still not “bad”–just someplace you’d choose b/c it was cheap and reasonably close to [whatever motivated you to live on the west edge of LV].
Stop making sense, anon. Please refrain from getting in the way of the BearTrain in the future.
Close to $30k in college but I would have had a down payment too. If you think $30k is a reason not to go to college then I’ve got news for you.
Secondly, Funny money was around then too, just not quite as much. IIRC i showed a 93% financed property from 1999.
You can’t change the fact that this place sold for $102,000 13 short years ago and today it’s listed for four times as much. You can’t seem to accept it either.
“#Barry on June 15th, 2010 at 7:44 am
Stop making sense, anon. Please refrain from getting in the way of the BearTrain in the future.”
sorry, 1997, not 1999.
“So when exactly did the neighborhood change? The intersection of ashland, lincoln and belmont has been developed for as long as I can remember and I’ve been living here since ‘95.”
It was a long, long two blocks from Ashland to Ravenswood in 1997. The Appleton Electric Company still occupied the entire square block on the west side from Wellington & Paulina to Wellington & Ravenswood.
I’ve always loved the area, and it certainly wasn’t bad, but in terms of change, well that’s easy – when said Appleton Co burned down and they began work on the “New Millionaire’s Row” on Paulina and the little quasi-gated community directly west.
“refrain from getting in the way of the BearTrain ”
Does that run on the Metra tracks, too? What’s it’s schedule? Would you consider that a big negative to living this close to the tracks?
ps–on the metra track thing, having lived relatively near the tracks and being right next to them in this general area many times as a train flies by, the only real “problem” is if you’re close to a bridge, which is a bit noisier b/c, well, it’s basically a drum–the train on the regular tracks is not much louder than the jets in the ORD flight pattern (a little north of here) and lasts about as long. And is much less frequent. You definitely notice it, but I don’t think its a big deal.
“3. If you think this place was in its current condition in ‘97, you’d be sadly, sadly mistaken.”
yeah but its current condition is still considered “unfinished”
anyone help me here, i am a bit under the weather and brain is not firing all pistons….
…why during the remodel (that the 2003 seller did) did they put that pitiful laundry room tandem to the bathroom instead of doing it in the basement?
any ideas or theories?
“it’s listed for four times as much”
New math. 3.72 = 4. Got it. As everyone points out, listing price =/= sale price anyway.
“Close to $30k in college but I would have had a down payment too. If you think $30k is a reason not to go to college then I’ve got news for you. ”
$30k part time should equal about $75k full time. $75k x 7 years plus $100k in avoided loans = $625k op cost, not counting interest. That’s a decade plus *after* LS graduation to get back to break even.
“the fact that this place sold for $102,000 13 short years ago”
Dude, if you think this place was in *any*thing like the same condition in 1997, you’re being incredibly dense, intentionally or otherwise.
“You can’t change the fact that this place sold for $102,000 13 short years ago and today it’s listed for four times as much. You can’t seem to accept it either. ”
Conversely, you can’t seem to accept that there are external factors that play into the price of a property beyond simply some selling price at some arbitrary point in the past and/or lax financing. I don’t agree that this thing is necessarily worth $400,000 but it’s not like this specific house in this hood has been completely static since 1997.
“…why during the remodel (that the 2003 seller did) did they put that pitiful laundry room tandem to the bathroom instead of doing it in the basement?”
Maybe they thought the tradeoff of a little lost space upstairs was worth it for not having to constantly trudge all their clothes up and down two levels? Makes some sense to me
“$30k part time should equal about $75k full time. ”
No, $30k part time is $30k part-time. I made in the mid to high $20’s part-time during college which was full time summer and breaks and 20-30 hours a week during school.
Secondly, this house on this lot sold for 102,000 in 1997. Today its listed for $398,000. Regardless of condition, regardless of inflation, regardless of change in neighborhood…..
this is a two bedroom cottage that sold for $102,000 in 1997 and is listed for $398,000. NOt a tear down, not a new structure. same, rehabbed structure, 13 years later, four times the price.
Only in Cali was the bubble this evident, where are 2-bed cottage would list for $398,000.
Would this property been listed in the high$500’s had the owner tried to sell in 2007?
they should have at least put a family/tv room in the basement.
“It was a long, long two blocks from Ashland to Ravenswood in 1997. The Appleton Electric Company still occupied the entire square block on the west side from Wellington & Paulina to Wellington & Ravenswood.”
But HD’s been living here since ’95 and he didn’t know anything about that, so you must be making it up skeptic. HD **knows** that the LBA six corners was *P*R*I*M*E* in 97. Because he really digs vacant storefronts.
“yeah but its current condition is still considered “unfinished””
Sure. But even the basement’s been fixed since ’97–check that brick foundation–and that sort of work ain’t cheap. My biggest problem is the apparent 24 o/c joists.
“why during the remodel … did they put that pitiful laundry room tandem to the bathroom instead of doing it in the basement?”
1) “people” “like” having laundry not in the basement; 2) plumbing it there was cheaper; 3) basement not really full height; 4) basement has a water problem; 5) own a laudromat/dry cleaner; 6) only owns dry clean only clothes; 7) hipster who only owns 3 t-shirts, 2 pairs of pants.
“Today its listed for $398,000. ”
No, it’s not. NO. IT’S NOT. NO! IT! IS! NOT!
“Only in Cali was the bubble this evident, where are 2-bed cottage would list for $398,000.”
Yeah, in, like Fresno. In a Cali city where I’d choose to live, a place like this would have listed (and sold) for well over $600k at the peak. It probably still would in EsEff. In exactly this condition, except that the foundation would have been reinforced.
There was definitely easy financing in 1998. I bought a little 2bdrm bungalow for 90K in Minneapolis. I had a 3% down payment. I borrowed $1,000 of it back so I could do some work on the house. This was an FHA loan, my interest rate was 7.25%, and I was making close to 60K at the time. My FICO had some blemishes. I sold it four years later for $165K.
anon,
I would not bother with HD commentary….. he thinks if he wishes hard enough or clicks his feet together 3 times thar prices will fall to a level that meets his budget.
In terms of the 24″ joist spacing, I would assume that this is heavy timber construction. The joists are larger than 2x construction and the floor deck is probably tounge and groove 1×4’s.
“There was definitely easy financing in 1998.”
90K. 7.25%. making close to 60K.
Yeah, there was FHA.
However, those facts (1) aren’t close to the funny money of 2004 (or now, really), and (2) aren’t close to a college student, working part time and summers (ie, lumpy income), buying a fixer for almost 4x income, while borrowing for tuition, too.
“I would not bother with HD commentary”
I’m only bothered “on the internet”; not affecting my day.
“In terms of the 24? joist spacing, I would assume that this is heavy timber construction. The joists are larger than 2x construction and the floor deck is probably tounge and groove 1×4’s.”
Those don’t look like heavy timbers to me, but the perspective is a bit screwy. The tongue and groove (groove? heh) thing is a good point.
I agree with you that the standards have become even more lax and there was (and maybe is) fraud, but I was a graduate student at the time and made my down payment with my financial aid money.
“However, those facts (1) aren’t close to the funny money of 2004 (or now, really), and (2) aren’t close to a college student, working part time and summers (ie, lumpy income), buying a fixer for almost 4x income, while borrowing for tuition, too.”
No, its the other way around Valasko, you can’t click your heals three times and exact housing prices to stay anywhere near the height of the RE bubble.
“…why during the remodel (that the 2003 seller did) did they put that pitiful laundry room tandem to the bathroom instead of doing it in the basement?
any ideas or theories?”
basement flooding issues?
Hey anon,
A bit off topic, but I need to find this info and thought you might be the best person to ask.
I was wondering if you knew the name of the condo building that is located on the NW Corner of W Erie and Kingsbury. It is around 25-35 stories tall, (?) all glass with angled support columns, similar to the Hancock bldg design. Also the lobby/entrance seems to be 2 or 3 stories tall?
Any idea of what the name is and any thing else you might know about it? Also, there is a cool condo building right down the street (east of this) not too tall with the condos seemingly duplexes and triplexes. There is a parking garage for tenants on the first two stories. I am thinking that outrageous 1 bdrm (featured here on CC) with the huge terrace is located in it. If I remember correctly, the owners were very wealthy and used the unit as a pied a terre?
Thanks a ton and sorry for breaking into your conversation.
i didn’t think this area flooded?
I think HD has a point. These people in the greenzone paid small sums about a decade ago & are trying to cash out at crazy levels. Some might get lucky but I don`t see it happening en masse & sales levels prove it.
“i didn’t think this area flooded?”
It would be sewer backup rather than overland flooding, which is not an issue here. Basement pic doesn’t show evidence, but it’s just one pic.
“These people in the greenzone paid small sums about a decade ago & are trying to cash out at crazy levels.”
But the owner of this house who paid $102 already cashed out 7 years ago. So, to the extent he has a point on that issue, it does not apply to *this* house. Which would sell *easily* at the ’03 price plus listing/closing costs or about $330.
Note that the ’03 price + 3% per is over $381k–which means the ask price implies that the current owner overpaid a bit (w/o saying anything about their *knowledge* that they overpaid) unless this somehow manages to close above ask.
“I was wondering if you knew the name of the condo building that is located on the NW Corner of W Erie and Kingsbury.”
Erie on the Park (needed to check to be sure), a Lucien Lagrange building. 2002 vintage. 24 stories. 510 W Erie.
check this out; it has started…
http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/15/real_estate/new_housing_bubble/index.htm?hpt=T2
“I was wondering if you knew the name of the condo building that is located on the NW Corner of W Erie and Kingsbury.”
westloopelo – Erie on the Park…510 W Erie
HD, no clicking going on here. All your commentary is negative… not just realestate…. all loans are subprime….. crime is everywhere….etc….. Man if I had to deal with foreclosures all day and was a negative as you I would probably kill myself.
“check this out; it has started…”
My favorite quote is: “Nobody is building any rental inventory,”
There’s plenty of new rental inventory built or under construction in most places–it’s just being held for sale right now and is too “nice” for the type of rental inventory needed.
“Maybe they thought the tradeoff of a little lost space upstairs was worth it for not having to constantly trudge all their clothes up and down two levels? Makes some sense to me”
Barry,
true and i can get with that idea, but i would rather have a full laundry room with hangers poles folding table. its only a two bedroom place so there shouldnt be that much to carry up and down?
Thanks a lot Marco!
I’ve been searching for the name of this building all morning and could not find any info on it.
Erie on the Park… cool building IMO
“1) “people” “like” having laundry not in the basement; 2) plumbing it there was cheaper; 3) basement not really full height; 4) basement has a water problem; 5) own a laudromat/dry cleaner; 6) only owns dry clean only clothes; 7) hipster who only owns 3 t-shirts, 2 pairs of pants”
LOL hard at #7
I understand the the support beams killing the height of the basement as family den area (or true 80’s 90’s chicagoan putting a full bar down there and wood paneling).
but its raw space the floor is the original foundation even unpainted I mean come on at least throw up some drywall and some shelves if your going to ask me to pay 375k for a 2/1 with no parking.
Ok maybe i am assuming that the head clearance is bigger than it is. that might be a “shortie” water heater in the pic which would put the head clearance at 6 feet.
and still fine lets say the basement is just too much cost to “update” well they saved money by not doing it then DO SOMETHING about the back deck with what you saved.
your asking me to PAY 375k, am i asking to much for my money?
I don`t think flatly assuming 3% price inflation on real estate is a valid assumption.
Sonies on June 15th, 2010 at 10:07 am
“Erie on the Park… cool building IMO”
Even cooler now that both top floor penthouses are currently available….2500 sq ft each. Would love to combine them for an awesome condo! Found info on Dreamtown site.
Just might be in Chicago this weekend. Awaiting floorplans now.
Sorry again for breaking in this thread with offtopic ?
All the more reason for an open discussion area, Sabrina…PLEASE!
Groove, shocked to see a parent of a young child arguing that the laundry should be in the basement, not upstairs! (Not that anyone’s raising a family in this proerty, but still!)
When we moved in, first thing I thought was “we’re moving that upstairs laundry to the basement, so we can turn that laundry room into more usable space.”
Now, I think the suggestion of moving the laundry to the basement might be the first step toward divorce proceedings.
It really is dang convenient. . . surprises me now that the trend in new places is apparently moving away from upstairs laundry.
But, to your final question, no, I don’t think you’re asking too much– this place is not horrible, but it’s not worth the asking price (or much more than the ’03 price). Not without parking, a school, a finished basement, something in that yard, etc. . .
And thanks to you anon, I missed your reply about Erie on the Park.
Re: this house, sort of cute if one was in the market to buy grandma a house. And how could it be considered a finished ready to move in house if that nasty looking basement is unfinished?
If you do it right with all amenities, that would easily add another $75-100k to the sales price. IMO, definately not worth the time and energy….and the constant fear of flooding if it is not a poured concrete basement.
“Groove, shocked to see a parent of a young child arguing that the laundry should be in the basement, not upstairs!”
ok disclaimer here; I dont do any laundry not even my own 🙂 so my gripe with it shouldnt be counted.
but i know wife hates the tiny in unit washer dryer at the apartment and complains about folding stuff on the dining room table and doing extra loads. she now actually been slacking on laundry and waits till we go back to the house.
“I don’t think you’re asking too much– this place is not horrible”
I agree i like this place its really nice, even if i am beetching about it, if it was priced to reflect its shortcomings i wouldnt even throw a hissy about the basement, parking, back porch, skylight “shades”.
Wait Wait…I remember in the 70’s in the suburbs and houses with the…
LAUNDRY SHOOT (then again I remember a board game called Chutes and Ladders).
I kinda of liked having a Laundry Chute. Didn’t like so much the avocado coloured kitchens but thats another story.
“I don`t think flatly assuming 3% price inflation on real estate is a valid assumption.”
$367,300 is the CPI-inflated amount. 381k is reached by adding 52.45 bips–very close to the long-term trend for RE of 50 bips over inflation. So, I wasn’t flatly assuming, but using a round, easy number based on long term trends. And reaching the conclusion that–assuming this sells for ask–the current owner overpaid a bit for the house (and implying that, if it sells for 10% off ask, they overpaid by quite a bit), which seems right.
Or are you saying that the 2003 price was a big fat deal, Bob?
“I kinda of liked having a Laundry Chute.”
Was it big enough for teenagers to fit thru? Knew someone who rented a place with one that big–dangerous thing for parties.
“Even cooler now that both top floor penthouses are currently available….2500 sq ft each. Would love to combine them for an awesome condo! Found info on Dreamtown site.”
wow i just saw one of them on redfin, please excuse me while I dream of winning the megamillions… amazing place for 1.35 milly
I LOVE that block of erie too,I go to that dog park on occasion
Yea the 2003 close_price and the 2010 ask price.
“wow i just saw one of them on redfin, please excuse me while I dream of winning the megamillions… amazing place for 1.35 milly”
Yeah that place is beautiful and that terrace is SICK. You also apparently don’t have to bring in your stuff from the terrace like the Trump!
“Was it big enough for teenagers to fit thru?”
Our laundry shoot wasn’t even big enough for my teddy bear to fit thru. Tragically.
Geez, thanks for opening up old wounds, anon.
“Our laundry shoot wasn’t even big enough for my teddy bear to fit thru. Tragically.”
Gotta love an old fashioned laundry shoot. Whole mornin’ drinkin’ ‘shine, then an afternoon aerating the neighbor’s sheets. Good times.
“Geez, thanks for opening up old wounds, anon.”
Sorry, man.
“Yeah that place is beautiful and that terrace is SICK. You also apparently don’t have to bring in your stuff from the terrace like the Trump!”
Right?
The only issue I would have with that terrace is the mechanicals for the building are visible. I would think there would be a film or something to block that view off.
Still though, I am very impressed with the units…they far exceed anything in the Trump…and i was beginning to really like that 1 bdrm there.
I would wonder how noisy those mechanicals are in the summertime as they look like air conditioners, perhaps if you really hated looking at them the building might let you frost the glass?
groove i agree, that’s why negotiations should start at the ’03 price or there abouts. hey anon are you really tall? i just though short basement are common in Chicago; as far as the joist; you can sister them up [correctly] and that will increase integrity. [weloop/architect prob can shed more light on that]
what anon said on the basement flooding being sewer related – it would make explain why the basement is just completely, utterly unused right now.
“hey anon are you really tall? i just though short basement are common in Chicago”
Not *really* tall, but I think that looks like it’s less than 7′ clear on the non-hvac side of the beam, which is like 6’9″ after drywall and flooring, which is cramped feeling. And the HVAC side–which is the side with the stairs–looks like you’d get barely 6′ at least for bulkheads, which is unacceptable.
I really like over 7’3″ of finished height in a basement generally, with limited bulkhead areas.
“All the more reason for an open discussion area, Sabrina…PLEASE!”
I’ve often thought of putting together something for Sabrina, like phpBB (http://www.phpbb.com/) and handing it over to her.
Problem is that I work 6-7 days a week now and have far to little time. It’s all I can do to glance at cribchatter most days.
the only think about basement heights that that needs to be acknowledge is if you want to make the floor lower it might cost 10-40K from what i heard(more or less you’ll be replacing plumbing too). so you’d have to get a good structure for around(10-20%)+ land value and rehab it with everything(at one time) on the list(to save money) to get a good place at a good price.
otherwise anon your right
“All the more reason for an open discussion area, Sabrina…PLEASE”
i still think a cribchatter hang out party would be the best, we will eat good food, downs some spirits, talk some smack. then we would exchange phone numbers, emails, twitter accounts and most of the off topic stuff will be tweeted or we would just call HD’s office to get someone to give him a warm hug when he gets to doom and gloomy.
lol, groove, looking at the basement pics closely that brick doesn’t look good; exposed to water w/freeze cycles.
“if you want to make the floor lower it might cost 10-40K from what i heard(more or less you’ll be replacing plumbing too)”
it’s about $15-20 to just replace/upgrade the floor (tearout replace drain tile, etc). This one would almost certainly need underpinning, too. And getting much height down would require moving the sewer drain–which would then go a long way to ending any flooding issue. I think, even with the small small footprint, getting 12″ going down would be north of $50k.
“going down would be north of $50k.”
at that point its not cost effective at all even if you live there for 20 years cant recoup that.
your better off doing a back of house addition for that money.
“lol, groove, looking at the basement pics closely that brick doesn’t look good; exposed to water w/freeze cycles.”
i can smell the dampness through the picture 🙂
“Looking at the basement pics closely that brick doesn’t look good”
Kids, your Junior Home Inspector vocabulary word of the day is SPALLING. It’s a great word. . . the owner of any vintage home is likely familiar with it!
“going down would be north of $50k.”
True story: I have a bud who actually dug out his own basement 12”. Frame house slightly bigger than this one, he did it completely solo and by hand.
It took him over 8 weeks, working on this over 40 hours/week, but he pulled it off.
(Sobering crib chatter reality side to the story: he actually just went into foreclosure on the same place, 9 years into the mortgage, due to job loss. . . bank’s rengotiating but we’ll see, maybe the home karma will come back around.)
“True story: I have a bud who actually dug out his own basement 12”. Frame house slightly bigger than this one, he did it completely solo and by hand.”
Brick foundation? b/c I see that as the big wildcard here.
And digging down 12″ should (if you do your floor correctly) only net you about 6″ + old floor thickness of add’l height.
I was half thinking that maybe the reason the laundry is in the house is because there is no stair from inside the house to the basement. (that’s why I have a stacked washer-dryer in my house, that’s similarly small and cottagey) But, looking closer at the photo of the basement, maybe that’s a stairway BEHIND the furnace/water heater? Seems like a weird location for a stairway, but…
I keep trying to figure out where I might put a stairway into the basement in at my place. Then I get to thinking a “trap door” to a stairway. That would be cool, until you actually have to use it a lot…
Anon- That was brick on limestone.
Here, totally agree you’d have to have an inspector look at bricks / foundation. But sometimes spalling is nothing so it could be fine.
And, yes, my friend got about 7” of additional head space digging out 12”. He also got pretty ripped hauling the wheel barrow up the basement stairs.
That property is also an unusual (in Chicago) elevated / “guaranteed not to flood” location that upped the man cave ante. Dunno if this place has that. . .
“Then I get to thinking a “trap door” to a stairway. That would be cool, until you actually have to use it a lot…”
I’m not gonna get started on trap doors, but totally love them. Saw a place in E logan last summer that had a trap door going down to the garden from the porch– totally cool.
But yeah, an unpleasant measuring of cool v. function (saw one going to the basement in a place in e wicker that actually evoked images of a bloody death it was so tricky).
Even better though, hidden doors (I have elaborate plans to one day install 3 in my place. . . . so, yeah, I stop babbling now but check hiddendoors dot com).
“sometimes spalling is nothing so it could be fine”
Primary concern to me is not the spalling, but disturbing the base of the bricks when you dig down, which could lead to a wall collapsing and starting from scratch. And, if you’re doing it yourself, there’s a high likelihood that the damage would be excluded from your HO coverage. And the easy solution of staying a foot plus away from the walls sux, b/c you lose like 10% of your floor area.
And the same issue applies to those beam supports which (a) aren’t truly permanent and (b) are *already* precarious on those 4″ tall platforms. So, sure, one *could* diy the basement, but this one seems pretty fraught, at least on the structural aspects. Once that’s done, the electric and plumbing do appear to be fairly well contained, so finishing is could be giy (groove it …).
“check this out; it has started…
http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/15/real_estate/new_housing_bubble/index.htm?hpt=T2”
The “shortage” anticipated by the academics should come just in time for the shadow-inventory influx predicted by S&P? http://www.housingwire.com/2010/06/15/shadow-inventory-to-take-3-years-to-clear-sp
SquareD hangs out with hobbits.
No real estate prices are going to rise because today’s Okies, the Gulf refugees, are going to be leaving FL, AL, LA, etc and moving north and we’ll be competing with them for housing. Buy now or be priced out FOREVER!
“SquareD hangs out with hobbits.”
Except when I’m here w/the trolls. . . 😉
Hey guys — just catching up on the chatter & I am relatively new… can someone explain the ‘green zone’ to me? thanks!
The green zone is most easily defined as neighborhoods in chicago where young urban professional live socialize and drink.
ahhh… thanks for clarifying, homedelete!
“Looking at the basement pics closely that brick doesn’t look good”
“Kids, your Junior Home Inspector vocabulary word of the day is SPALLING. It’s a great word. . . the owner of any vintage home is likely familiar with it!”
I’ve got a little of it. My inspector did not think it was a problem.
What I notice in these pics is that the brick goes all the way down. My basement is mostly stone with the brick starting right around ground level. It looks like the stones were selected like a puzzle and set in place.
GIY…..lets hope it catches on, i could write a book then get my own reality show, be on oprah, end up divorced and in rehab.
(wow that day dream took a wrong turn somewhere)
SquareD: “True story: I have a bud who actually dug out his own basement 12”. Frame house slightly bigger than this one, he did it completely solo and by hand.”
Never forget the tragic lesson in “This is Spinal Tap”, where the plans for stonehenge mistakenly used inches ( ” ) instead of feet ( ‘ ).
I withdraw my last comment, as it now makes sense that you indeed meant inches.
SquareD said:
“I’m not gonna get started on trap doors, but totally love them. Saw a place in E logan last summer that had a trap door going down to the garden from the porch– totally cool. ”
this place, right??
stupid links!
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2448-N-Washtenaw-Ave-60647/home/13449465
Anyone stop by the open house this weekend? Water in the basement? Looks adorable but the basement looks terrifying