Is 2012 The Best Year Ever For Investors? A 2/2 Duplex Down At 4545 S. Drexel In Kenwood
This 2-bedroom duplex down in a Daniel Burnham designed greystone at 4545 S. Drexel in Kenwood was on the market last summer as a distress property.
Originally listed for $119,000 in August 2011, the listing described it “needs some finishing work but an outstanding opportunity, hurry and bring your CASH offer.”
It sold in April 2012 for $50,000.
The unit has an unusual duplex down layout with just the living room on the main floor and all the bedrooms, kitchen and other living spaces on the lower level.
According to the prior listing pictures, the kitchen was intact and it looks the same as what’s in the current listing with granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.
See the prior listing pictures here.
The unit has all the things that buyers look for including in-unit washer/dryer, central air and secured parking included.
It is now listed $20,000 higher than the bank had it last summer, at $139,000.
Is 2012 the best year ever for investors willing to rehab properties and resell them quickly?
With low inventory this year, will this rehabber get the higher price?
[Unit #1E in the building is also available. It is listed at $199,000 but it has the more traditional duplex down layout with the living/dining/kitchen and one bedroom on the main level and a family room and 2 bedrooms on the lower level.]
Jerry Houlihan at Weichert Realtors has the listing. See more pictures here.
Unit #1A: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2086 square feet, duplex down, one secured parking space
- I couldn’t find an original sales price
- Was listed in August 2011 for $119,000
- Sold in April 2012 for $50,000 (per Redfin)
- Currently listed for $139,000
- Assessments of $346 a month
- Taxes of $3140
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 12×15 (lower level)
- Bedroom #2: 16×11 (lower level)
- Living room: 16×15 (main level)
Speaking as someone who bought and sold a place with a funky layout, I would strongly discourage anybody from buying a place with a layout like this unless they really do not care about resale.
This is a really cool building and Drexel Boulevard is beautiful but this is basically a garden unit and one with an odd layout at that.
I’ve seen a fair number of the really cheap foreclosures in the neighborhood selling, being rehabbed and put back on the market between the mid and upper $100k’s where they once sold for $300+ when I bought in the area in 2006, but I still don’t see any of them selling. While I enjoy living in the area, I think with other more desirable neighborhoods becoming so much cheaper even at these lower prices, there are few buyers on the southside.
Benjamon09, what are your thoughts on Garfield Park?
2012 might be a great year for rehabbers of many properties, but not properties with fundamental flaws like this. This is a basement. You can’t put lipstick on a pig.
Well according to a bloomberg article from today, Americans are seeing the biggest home equity jump in nearly 60 years!
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/americans-see-biggest-home-equity-152918693.html
yeah…. a V shaped recovery! LOL!
And Garfield Park is one of the worst hoods in the city
“Benjamon09, what are your thoughts on Garfield Park?”
I definitely prefer the southside over the westside. To me more crimes occur to random people or bypassers on the west side than on the southside. If you appear to be an outsider on the west side, you are driving through to get to Oak Park or the suburbs and have money and are a target for crime. On the southside, if you don’t fit in you have to be there for a reason as you don’t drive through the southside to get anywhere and you are left alone.
I don’t know much personally about Garfield Park itself though. I am much more an expert on Bronzeville/Kenwood and still know a fair amount of the northside from living up there in the past.
As an example:
This condo that Sabrina featured http://cribchatter.com/?p=10043 sold for $325k in 2006, sold as a foreclosure at $21k in 2011 and was rehabbed/relisted for $179k and hasn’t sold and been reduced to $135k. It is in a troubled building, but it is far nicer than this duplex (garden really) although not as nice a location.
Here is the current listing: http://ww w.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/4616-S-Vincennes-Ave-60653/unit-1/home/18923837
I think you meant daniel burnham, not drexel burnham!! You probably did that as a test to make sure we are reading carefully
As an example:
This condo that Sabrina featured (p=10043) sold for $325k in 2006, sold as a foreclosure at $21k in 2011 and was rehabbed/relisted for $179k and hasn’t sold and been reduced to $135k. It is in a troubled building, but it is far nicer than this duplex (garden really) although not as nice a location.
Here is the current listing: http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/4616-S-Vincennes-Ave-60653/unit-1/home/18923837
It doesn’t look like the flipper did anything to this place. Why would anyone just hand the flipper $80k? Also, if it didn’t sell last summer for $119k, why would it sell this summer for $20k more. Ridiculous listing.
I remember seeing these units when the building was converted. Some have decent layouts, but this unit is just a fustercluk. Drexel is a nice boulevard though. It would almost be acceptable if the kitchen was on the upper level with the living room. The southside has been hit hard. I really thought North Kenwood would take off but it has stalled big time. The pervasive hood factor seems to be slowly chocking off any hope.
I used to live in the East Garfield Park area. It’s very block-by-block, and even the ‘good’ blocks are only good relative to others in the area.
West siders looking to rob people generally go East into nicer neighborhoods or onto Green Line trains.
“It doesn’t look like the flipper did anything to this place. Why would anyone just hand the flipper $80k?”
Well, today’s buyer can’t buy it for 50k. Maybe this buyer got a screaming bargain on it.
“Also, if it didn’t sell last summer for $119k, why would it sell this summer for $20k more. Ridiculous listing.”
Because this summer is not last summer. Same reason why properties that sold for $200k in 2009 couldn’t be sold for 180k in 2010. Markets change. Buyers change. Inventories change.
Having said all that, I don’t think they get 139k either.
The photos were taken during the daytime and all the lights are on. I think that tells you everything you need to know.
After looking at this again, I think this place would look a million times better if they did something about those light fixtures. I’m guessing recessed lighting wasn’t an option for some reason.
I don’t know what the rules are regarding this, but it could be a good option for a solo attorney / shrink / other professional who wants to practice out of her home. That’s really all I could see using that top room for – otherwise it’s basically a very nice vestibule.
Speaking of south side neighborhoods, how is South Shore doing these days? I always thought that neighborhood had one of the prettiest stretches of lakefront and some good housing stock.
“Well, today’s buyer can’t buy it for 50k. Maybe this buyer got a screaming bargain on it.”
I still wouldn’t hand this flipper $80k. I wonder what it appraised for… what happens when a property is its own comp?
“Because this summer is not last summer. Same reason why properties that sold for $200k in 2009 couldn’t be sold for 180k in 2010. Markets change. Buyers change. Inventories change.”
From the looks of things, properties have been stagnant or trending downwards over the past year.
If properties are worth what someone will pay and two months ago, this one sold for $50k, I find it difficult to believe that some sucker will come along and pay $80k more than the value 2 months ago.
At that price they probably paid cash and didn’t get an appraisal.
I’m still in E. Garfield Park, Icarus. Lots of empty foreclosed buildings not being sold by the banks yet. Serious crime has suprisingly gone down, despite there being more former CHA residents wandering about. It seems like someone made a deal to make the statistics look good for the new policing strategy inthe 11th district. The gang wars have moved into North Lawndale of late instead.
But EGP is still a shithole filled with too many slumlords collecting sec 8.
“…despite there being more former CHA residents wandering about.”
great descriptive phrase.
“I think you meant daniel burnham, not drexel burnham!! You probably did that as a test to make sure we are reading carefully”
Whoops! My bad.
Nope- no test. Just was writing it very late in the evening. I’ll fix it to the correct name.
Good Grief, no powder room on the living room level for the concenience of guests? Yikes!
Update. This unit ended up selling for $118K proving once again that some of the louder negative voices on Cribchatter often don’t know what they are talking about. 🙂
We accidentally stumbled upon Kenwood while on a job on the Southside earlier this week.
I had no idea how HUGE and beautiful the homes are there.
I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere.
The closest thing I can compare the homes to are castles in Germany.
If you haven’t been, go check it out.