Get a 3-Bedroom House in the Burley School District for Just $549,900: 1303 W. Nelson in Lakeview
This 3-bedroom house at 1303 W. Nelson in Lakeview just came on the market listed at $549,900.
That is the price for many 3-bedroom duplexes and townhouses in the neighborhood.
Built in 1891 on a 25×123 lot, it has 2 bedrooms plus a bath on the upper level and an in-law suite on the lower level/”ground” floor.
The in-law suite appears to be an english basement.
The listing says the main level has an office, sunroom and kitchen.
The kitchen has stainless steel appliances.
There are also some original features such as crown molding.
The listing says the backyard is lined with magnolia trees and has a 2-car garage.
There’s no central air.
The house is located in the Burley school district.
It is listed for about $100,000 under the 2005 purchase price.
Is this a deal compared with townhouses in the neighborhood?
Janet Fitzpartrick at Jameson Sotheby’s has the listing. See the pictures here.
1303 W. Nelson: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, no square footage listed, 2 car garage
- Sold in June 2005 for $650,000
- Currently listed for $549,900
- Taxes of $8391
- No central air
- Bedroom #1: 16×13 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 16×9 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 11×7 (main floor? or LL?)
- Den: 13×12 (main floor)
- Family room: 10×9 (lower level)
“The in-law suite appears to be an english basement.”
What is an english basement? Bad teeth or something?
Is the prospect of Burley School really going to induce a family to spend $500k to live in a home like this in an ok but not great part of Lake View? I dont recall seeing this school at the top of any test lists. Maybe better than your average CPS but that doesn’t say much.
Why did they include the “before” pic of the backyard?
Those bathrooms make me a little sad.
“boasts excellent acedemic standing”
My favorite Realtor(TM) misspelling ever.
Burley is pretty solid – http://iirc.niu.edu/School.aspx?source=Test_Results&source2=ISAT&schoolID=150162990252104&level=S
Competitive with a lot of suburban elementary schools, in terms of test scores.
Where is a better part of Lakeview? Location wise, there is nothing wrong with this. And Burley is a good school (I have friends whose children go here). It is one of the 3 b’s – Blaine, Burley and Bell. Yes the place is tiny, but if you’re dead set on living in the city at this price point, and having your kids attend a good school, this seems like one of the few good options that isn’t a condo.
Homes like this for $549,000 make my long standing decision to move west of western all the more palatable.
“My favorite Realtor(TM) misspelling ever.”
But, Michael, rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?
Can you actually get to the rental unit from within the house, or can you not use it as just a basement. Also, how likely is it that the basement is actually a LEGAL rental unit? If there are 3 bedrooms in the main house, then having a rental in the basement wouldn’t be too bad to offset the mortgage costs, but if it is illegal you are asking for trouble I’d think.
“Is the prospect of Burley School really going to induce a family to spend $500k to live in a home like this in an ok but not great part of Lake View? I dont recall seeing this school at the top of any test lists. Maybe better than your average CPS but that doesn’t say much.”
I hear families are willing to pay $7,300/month for burley.
Burley is a very good school.
@JMM the “B” schools (Bell, Blaine and Burley) have all been top schools for a long time. Burley is not merely “better than average”. It’s less well known to those without kids than Blaine, but the test scores are nearly identical and trust me, parents know it.
“Is the prospect of Burley School really going to induce a family to spend $500k to live in a home like this in an ok but not great part of Lake View? I dont recall seeing this school at the top of any test lists. Maybe better than your average CPS but that doesn’t say much.”
For some, probably yes if you want to be on the North Side. That’s about the same price you’d pay for a house in the suburbs with a good school district although I’ll agree with you about Burley just being an OK school, nothing great about it. Actually, nothing is great about any CPS residentail school. Bell and Lincoln and the top schools and they are overcrowded with very high student to teacher ratios. These schools work becuase of parental involvement. Most parents can help with elmentary school homework, it gets tougher in HS and HS is what matters.
So there’s no parental involvement in good suburban schools.
Interesting.
‘So there’s no parental involvement in good suburban schools.”
Why would you think that?? Good suburban schools have lots of parental involvement. Failing city schools have low or no parerenal involvement.
Actually, failing school suburban, city and rural have low parental involvment meaning that in some places even if a parent wanted to help, they wouldn’t be able to. Help by assisting themselves or hiring a tutor.
Looking to Buy,
Where do you get your info on Bell and Lincoln from? Actual experience? Also, What makes a good school in your estimation?
1.) Sorry for all the terrible grammar in the previous posts. I was in the middle of something and just fired something off.
2.) My info for the CPS schools (Bell and Lincoln) are from the various ‘lists’ that are published by the Sun Times, Chicago Mag, the Illinois State site etc…. Also, I have close friends with kids that are at each school ranging from 6th grade to 1st/Kindergarten.
My OPNION about an ideal school in the lower grades is this:
High Illinois Test Scores (the min is low that’s why it should be high)
Low classroom sizes
Minimal low income students (Debate this how you want, but the data proves that schools/areas with lower income have lower test scores and less academic achievement. It’s unfortunate, but the data supports it).
Ok, so fantastic teachers, great community and amazing parent involvement play no part in how you ‘rank’ a school.
Got it.
“Debate this how you want, but the data proves that schools/areas with lower income have lower test scores and less academic achievement. It’s unfortunate, but the data supports it”
Correlation =/= causation.
of Burley’s student population approximately:
50% exceed state standardized tests
45% meet standardized tests
5% not so much
I think this is a better deal in Burley, five blocks west and then within easy walking distance of the school without crossing Ashland.: http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1823-W-Nelson-St-60657/home/13358615
These ridiculous SFH prices make me think living east of western in a 3-4 bedroom townhome or condo will be the way to go. Yardwork sucks!
“Ok, so fantastic teachers, great community and amazing parent involvement play no part in how you ‘rank’ a school.
Got it.”
Exactly.
unless you’re Warren Buffet perhaps? http://www.cnbc.com/id/46538421
“These ridiculous SFH prices make me think living east of western in a 3-4 bedroom townhome or condo will be the way to go. Yardwork sucks!”
“Correlation =/= causation.”
Exactly, I agree. I’m not looking for causal factors. I’m stating my opinon.
“the data proves ”
“I’m stating my opinon”
Interesting usage of “data” and “proves” then.
Mr. Buffet is going crazy in his old age and he’s starting to lose it with his idiotic comments that have been spewing forth from his mouth over the last few years. It’s time to tax him and his ilk at confiscatory rates and spread the wealth. I want a free year’s rent.
warren lives pretty far west of western
Warren is a douche ala Bill Gross, they do nothing but talk their own book… lets just say he has a vested interest in the housing economy getting back on track ( /cough /cough his terrible 5bb investment in BAC about a year ago)
Buffet admits he was dead wrong with his housing bottom call last year. Now he says its all about hormones. He’ll be dead wrong this time too, imo. Per his shareholder letter today:
“That devastating supply/demand equation is now reversed: Every day we are creating more households than housing units. People may postpone hitching up during uncertain times, but eventually hormones take over. And while “doubling-up” may be the initial reaction of some during a recession, living with in-laws can quickly lose its allure.”
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/02/matt-stoller-warren-buffett-says-hormones-will-fix-the-housing-crisis.html
“Mr. Buffet is going crazy in his old age and he’s starting to lose it with his idiotic comments that have been spewing forth from his mouth over the last few years.”
This house just screams “Sotheby’s”. I wonder if Christie’s was in the running too….
Buffet has also bad-mouthed gold forever, and it’s up 12 straight years and beating stocks YTD.
“fantastic teachers”
I don’t know any unionized workforce where “fantastic” is a descriptor that can reasonably be applied. I don’t often find many manufacturers crowing that their products are distributed by “fantastic” teamsters…
“amazing parent involvement”
One persons “amazing” is anothers “overbearing”, “obnoxious”, “misinformed”…
“great community”
Pretty much the same as minimal low income students, don’t you think? In that sense you’d agree.
Sounds like a post from someone whose kids are at one of those “up and comer” but no proven results elementaries. Not that numbers tell the whole story, but I’d take analytical results over an empty sales pitch any day.
“the data proves ”
“I’m stating my opinon”
Interesting usage of “data” and “proves” then.
Anon, proves to me and supports my opinion. You must not have a lot of friends…..ha, and I don’t have data for that.
JMM – Exactly.
JMM – your post was breathtaking
JMM – you “don’t often find many manufacturers crowing that their products are distributed by “fantastic” teamsters” because the teamsters don’t distribute anything.
That 2005 $650,000 purchase price is astounding. This is a modest brick 2-flat cottage. (I suspect basement apartment is/was legal when constructed, and meets current grade/window ratio.) That vintage 1920s pedestal sink and toilet suggest that there are other items that haven’t been upgraded or replaced – it’s very unusual to see fixtures that old still in use. Cabinets look like 50s built-in plywood millwork, but maybe my eyes are deceiving me. Nothing here says $.5m. I feel sorry for the owners..
I just love the way the 1% (and their minions whose portfolios benefit from increased corporate profits) demonize unions. I’m sure you will be outraged to find that New York hotel maids got seven-year agreement will raise 30,000 hotel employees’ salaries to just under $60,000 per year by mid-2018 too. How dare they demand a living wage and good benefits? They are labor units and nothing more. Allowing such power to the serfs would limit executive compensation and corporate profits. I don’t see many manufacturers crowing that their products are manufactured with cheap overseas labor either.
http://www.indypendent.org/2012/02/21/hypocrisy-fair-wages
“don’t know any unionized workforce where “fantastic” is a descriptor that can reasonably be applied. I don’t often find many manufacturers crowing that their products are distributed by “fantastic” teamsters…”
Yea. Picking a school for my child is just like choosing a stock. After all if the numbers look good it must be a good school for every kid. In all honesty, I think the school rankings in the Sun Times is a fine place to start. But I feel sorry for kids whose parents don’t want to get off their duffs and visit a school to see what it’s really like.
Numbers don’t lie. Right?
“because the teamsters don’t distribute anything”
That comment makes no sense.
“Cabinets look like 50s built-in plywood millwork, but maybe my eyes are deceiving me. Nothing here says $.5m. I feel sorry for the owners..”
But you could send your child to a slightly above average CPS school! It’s totally worth it.
How is 95% of kids meeting and exceeding state standards slightly above CPS average? It’s well above the state average, let alone CPS.
“proves to me and supports my opinion.”
Confirmation bias.
“How is 95% of kids meeting and exceeding state standards slightly above CPS average?”
Don’t you see all tehpoorz hanging around the skool, vladie? Tehpoorz invalidate any otherwise valid numbers. Heck, they even named the neighborhood after that reality–SoPoor.
@JMM
Show me one non-unionized charter school with numbers close to Burley.
Every time I have an opening in a rental, if I decide to pay one of those guys to get it rented, I call my guy, and he sends someone over and they spend literally an hour taking like 100 pictures of the property, which is smaller than this one, and then they show me the ones they plan to use and I am always all, “Damn, they look great, great job.” This is on Craigslist, so you can have a lot of pictures if you want, and they usually have about 10 or so. This is why I keep using this guy (as well as the fact that he keeps getting my places rented for top dollar, which I’m sure is related to those good pictures.
Anyway, for me, the time and effort an agent has their photographer spend seems highly correlated to how good a job the agent is doing of getting things done. Not using all the space in MLS for photos + four outside pics, one of which is outdated + no pictures of first floor bedroom or in-law suite = half ass job of photography.
On Burley, I have two dogs in this fight, so I am not unbiased, but it’s pretty clear that enough people think that it is a good school that it generates a premium over surrounding schools. You might argue that it is unfounded or that you’d be better off in the suburbs, but those are different arguments.
Anyway, if the in-law suite can be legally rented, and is decent, that does provide a nice cash flow for a lot of buyers, but I think that “in-law suite” means it probably isn’t legal.
“lets just say he has a vested interest in the housing economy getting back on track ( /cough /cough his terrible 5bb investment in BAC about a year ago)”
That’s not what it is. Berkshire Hathaway owns many housing related businesses. In fact, isn’t it the largest maker of manufactured housing in the country (i.e. mobile homes/trailers)?
So- yeah- he’s talking his book because he is heavily invested in the sector (outside of anything to do with the BAC investment.) He also said those businesses are NOT seeing any meaningful recovery (that he thought last year, they’d be seeing.)
I love it when “inlaw” properties are featured here on CC and at this pricepoint. It’s clearly a sign that the previous owners of this never bothered to update the thing to a true SFH during the boom and are trying to pass off this unupdated, previously tenement housing as a legitimate domicile for a high earning family.
Guess that 650k pricepoint put a crimp on the owner’s budget to do necessary renovations to make it anywhere near a half million dollar property. Good luck to the current owner selling it anywhere near ask given it is not at all turnkey for the expectations at this pricepoint.
I can just imagine the overworked business exec trying to convince his nagging high maintenance wife it’s normal to have a second front door and a kitchen in the basement. LOL!
Also Sabrina with the paper still on the steps I think you could have a side job as a MLS photographer. 😀
Burley vs. Prescott – discuss amongst yourselves…
In many people’s minds the “good” part of Lakeview is any location within easy walking distance of 2012 WS champs Cubs. Anything else is a borderline slum.
At least this house is being honest about the “related living” apartment downstairs. Many of the nearby McMansions were built with expansive downstairs levels that could, with just some minor adjustments, become “in-law apartments.”. Come on, how many families really need a full-size bed + bath in the basement?
Just announced, Burley on the Illinois School Honor Roll for Excellence:
http://www.ilhonorroll.niu.edu/scripts/awards.asp?searchStr=B&awtype=E&year=2011&so=name
But it’s a little above average for CPS….
“What is an english basement? Bad teeth or something?”
English basement refers to basements that are roughly half above / half below grade.
All this West of Western talk….
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2449-N-Richmond-St-60647/home/13450187
under contract within 3 days.
“Come on, how many families really need a full-size bed + bath in the basement?”
Any family with semi-regular, but not extremely regular house guests? Any family with a surly teenager? Au pair? Exchange student? Seems like a lot of families, to me.