It’s Back: “Buyers Walked” from 4-Bedroom SFH at 3037 W. Belden in Logan Square
We last chattered about this 4-bedroom bungalow with 2 kitchens at 3037 W. Belden in Logan Square in September 2011.
See our September chatter here.
At the time, the number of bedrooms seemed confusing as the listing said 4 but only listed 3 bedrooms.
It’s now listed as 4 bedrooms with one on the second floor attic, two on the main floor and one in the basement.
In November, the house, which was a short sale, went under contract.
But now the listing says the “buyers walked” and it has come back on the market as an “approved short sale.”
If you recall, the house was built in 1890 on a rare double lot measuring 50×140.
It also has not just 1 but 2 kitchens, with the second one in the recently finished basement.
The listing also says the roof, electrical, heating and cooling have all been replaced. It has central air and a 2 car garage.
The house has come back on the market at the same price as before: $375,000.
With the market for starter homes being so hot, will this go under contract quickly once again?
Leigh Marcus at @Properties still has the listing. See more pictures here.
3037 W. Belden: 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1381 square feet, 2 car garage
- Sold in March 1992 for $6,000
- Sold in April 2005 for $110,000
- Sold in April 2006 for $350,000
- Originally listed in January 2010 for $550,000
- Reduced numerous times
- Was listed in September 2011 as a “short sale” for $375,000
- Was under contract in November 2011
- “Buyers walked”
- Re-listed as an “approved short sale” in January 2011 for $375,000
- Taxes of $4435
- Central Air
- Double lot of 50×140
- Bedroom #1: 19×14 (attic)
- Bedroom #2: 12×8 (main level)
- Bedroom #3: 7×7 (main level)
- Bedroom #4: 12×8 (basement)
- Kitchen: 14×12 (main level)
- Kitchen #2: 10×8 (lower level)
A 7 x 7 room is not a bedroom.
As I wrote in September:
“““Sold in March 1992 for $6,000?
If that’s accurate”
It’s not.
The March ’92 doc is a Trust Deed (aka, a mortgage), not a real deed.
The grantor of the ’92 trust deed is also the grantor of the 2005 (recorded in 2006) deed for $110k, and the grantee in that deed had filed a lis pendens against the grantor in 2003.
Basically, the described transactions before the $350k sale are not actual market sales.”
As much as I like the location and the double lot, this is effectively a 2 bedroom home without a kitchen. No wonder the buyers walked away, common sense finally kicked in.
“a 2 bedroom home without a kitchen”
?? It has two functioning kitchens. Maybe you don’t like ’em, but there are definitely two that would be more than sufficient to have a tortoise over for dinner.
The kitchens cancel each other out. Thus, no kitchen.
The problem is having two kitchens isn’t suitable to the SWPL nesting instinct driven nagging wife who wants hubby to overspend for the pride of “ownership”. Houses on HGTV and in Better Gardens don’t have two kitchens, and wifey can’t easily explain that away to her status conscious social circle.
So in a sense Chris M is right. If the owners had any sense at all they’d tear out that second kitchen and make more usable space out of it.
“The kitchens cancel each other out. Thus, no kitchen.”
New math!! I like it!
kitchen but no bath in the basement? that second kitchen bit screams “illegal basement apartment” to me, but not without a bath.
“kitchen but no bath in the basement?”
Could be wrong, but the pictured bath looks like its in the basement to me.
“New math!! I like it!”
Remember–if you’re gunning for 375k for a small cottage, your target market is going to have to be nagging wife who reads Better Housekeeping and watches HGTV and Oprah leading “yes” husband around by his d*ck .
“?? It has two functioning kitchens. Maybe you don’t like ‘em, but there are definitely two that would be more than sufficient to have a tortoise over for dinner.”
The main floor “kitchen” is a joke. Freestanding appliances, a freestanding sink, some over head cabinets and a island? And they’re asking $375K? get real.
And the basement kitchen is just a wet bar on steroids. By itself is fine, but when the basement kitchen is the more complete/finished kitchen I have a problem.
“The main floor “kitchen” is a joke. Freestanding appliances, a freestanding sink, some over head cabinets and a island? And they’re asking $375K? get real.
And the basement kitchen is just a wet bar on steroids. By itself is fine, but when the basement kitchen is the more complete/finished kitchen I have a problem.”
Like I said, you don’t like ’em; fair enough. But there are still TWO of them.
And less crap is more opportunity to customize w/o requiring demo!!
Welcome to blue-collar housing conditions, multi-generational living w/”in-law apartments”, tiny bedrooms, attic kitchens, unfinished attic bedrooms, basement “summer” kitchens, and haphazard handyman-special bathrooms, common for vast sections of non-Green Zone Chicago. South/southwest side are filled with bungalows like this for under $100,000. This house needs a gut rehab to meet white-collar dual-income buyer expectations, so factor that into the price while considering 3000-block west location.
“This house needs a gut rehab to meet white-collar dual-income buyer expectations, so factor that into the price while considering 3000-block west location.”
So, basically, in your opinion, for a WCDI buyer, it has negative value. Can’t say I’d argue the point.
Let’s try to be optimistic, the lower kitchen could be used as a meth lab. The rest of the house fits the motif perfectly
“and haphazard handyman-special bathrooms, common for vast sections of non-Green Zone Chicago.”
Still in the GZ, too, although becoming increasingly scarce. You should see my friends upstairs half-bath. If you’re above 5’7 you have to lean to the left because of the slope of the ceiling/roof.
I’m sorry – but make fun of the suburbs all you want – but if I had a family and only could spend 375k on a house, I would MUCH MUCH rather move into something like this:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Lockport/13110-Rado-Dr-N-60491/home/12932030
and before anyone starts knocking it, please clarify whether or not you have children because 2 screaming kids can make you realize REALLY quickly how you would rather have a large house than a small one!!!!
This one nearby sold above list:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3129-W-Belden-Ave-60647/home/13418453
Been in this house. The bathroom pictured is in the basement.
Also, the basement kitchen if I remember correctly, doesn’t have a sink.
Basically, the basement is a glorified man-cave.
“I’m sorry – but make fun of the suburbs all you want – but if I had a family and only could spend 375k on a house, I would MUCH MUCH rather move into something like this:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Lockport/13110-Rado-Dr-N-60491/home/12932030”
Where (or what) is “Lockport”?
😉
Sabrina,
It’s actually Homer Glen – and, surprisingly, you can make it to the city (w/o traffic) in 30 minutes. It truly is the best of both worlds (if you only have 375 to spend). Again, people don’t realize how their lives change once they have kids. All of the cool things the city has to offer are not used as much as you think/expect – AND you still have to deal with the crap (crime, hight taxes, crowded living quarters, etc.) all the time. That is the main reason people realize this and move to the suburbs.
Y’all make fun of the people in 2/2 w cribs but you guys are no different. The hypocrisy is amazing.
What the hell is “homer glen”?
That house is a nightmare! The very thing that was wrong with construction in the suburbs in the last 20 years.
Also- you CANNOT make it to the city in 30 minutes. Since when is there no traffic? Even Saturday afternoon the Eisenhower is backed up at 25th. If you live this far away from downtown- you are living for the suburbs and that is it. Don’t try and make it something it is not (and that is fine for many people.) In fact, I would say 90% of my own family (which lives in the suburbs) doesn’t come downtown for anything (except maybe an occasional cub, sox, blackhawks game but even that is rare given the cost these days.)
By the way- many of the suburbs have the same problems with crime (gangs, drug dealing, car thefts, burglaries etc.) as parts of the city. In some areas it is worse.
The house in homer glen is close to mountain biking at Palos but that’s about it. And since when is 375k not a lot of money? Who actually wants an ugly house that big? That’s ridiculous. I’d rather take a smaller house closer to civilization rather than a big cheap McMansion off of the 355 extension in the middle of nowhere. Gas alone for the suv would be 300 or more per car per month. Plus ac and natural gas costs, plus regular maintenance. No thank you. Big houses, like Saturday morning cartoons are relics of the 90’s and 2000’s.
clio you’re an ass, I mean do you really want your 2 kids playing under high tension wires?
Having spent last few months driving around s and sw-sides, I’m reaching conclusion that Galewood (west of Oak Park Ave) and here and there parts of West Ridge and Portage Park are last remaining areas of nice homes in nice neighborhoods for less than $300,000.
I’m a fan of all 3 of those hoods (though prefer the first two)
btw, another entry in the rent vs buy category:
1262 W Bryn Mawr #4
For sale: $500,000 (taxes $7962)
For rent: $2,000
Wonder what the brand new owners of #3 (bought a couple months ago for $475k, less than 15% less than the price paid by the sellers in ’07) think?
“Having spent last few months driving around s and sw-sides, I’m reaching conclusion that Galewood (west of Oak Park Ave) and here and there parts of West Ridge and Portage Park are last remaining areas of nice homes in nice neighborhoods for less than $300,000.”
Wow- you must be driving in the wrong hoods!
Plenty of “nice” homes in Beverly and Morgan Park under $300,000. Plenty of “nice” homes in Jefferson Park under $300,000. Ditto for Schorsch Village. Same for Norwood Park. Same for Oriole Park.
I could go on and on. Some are foreclosures and many are short sales though. Some need work- which we know many people don’t want to do.
Sabrina, we’ve friends in Beverly and Morgan Park, and have heard their stories about increasing petty crime, teen gang activity, and disproportionate dropping home prices. They’re stuck, and sending their kids to parochial schools. I wouldn’t recommend Morgan Park anymore except to childless “urban pioneers” attracted to a one-of-a-kind prairie house. Note that the restored prairie house in South Shore STILL hasn’t sold,despite a very reasonable price.
Perhaps I should I clarified “of interest to architects”. Norwood Park and Oriole Park are kinda boring. Schorsch Village is a out-of-the-way late-20s bungalow subdivision in demographic transition, w/o mass transit options, little interesting retail (except Aldi’s), no decent library or movie theatres, and mediocre public schools – none of three are likely alternate locations for dual-income professional couple.
I’ve spent a lot of time in this area, and it definitely doesn’t have an urban feel to it at all. Not sure why anyone would pay $375,000 to live there, especially when, as someone else said, you could buy a similar bungalow in a similar neighborhood on the southwest side for half the price. (Or you could buy a similar home at a similar price in an inner suburb like Skokie or Morton Grove and have a similar commute and perhaps better schools (not so sure about the schools, because those suburbs have changed a lot in the last 20 years). But as far as urban atmosphere, you get just as much in Skokie as you do here, though of course the Belden address is a lot closer to fun neighborhoods like Bucktown.
“But as far as urban atmosphere, you get just as much in Skokie as you do here, though of course the Belden address is a lot closer to fun neighborhoods like Bucktown.”
Is there somewhere in skokie where you’re walking distance to two different michelin starred restaurants, and many many other things? I know. It’s prob not true city living.
Not a good comparison, skokie to the outskirts of logan sq. However, I will say taht I don’t really walk anywhere far when it’s cold outside. hiking through snow or on icy sidewalks in boots with the wind in my face is not a pleasant mode of travel to visit top rated restaurants.
“Is there somewhere in skokie where you’re walking distance to two different michelin starred restaurants, and many many other things? I know. It’s prob not true city living.”
All I know is that it’s not near good public transportation
“hiking through snow or on icy sidewalks in boots with the wind in my face is not a pleasant mode of travel to visit top rated restaurants.”
I’ve been pestering L20 to install cross-country-ski and snowshoe racks out front, to no avail.
“Is there somewhere in skokie where you’re walking distance to two different michelin starred restaurants, and many many other things?”
Who the hell cares? People are so god damn stupid – they think that just because they live NEAR something, that they are going to use it more often. This is absolutely not true. Think about it – analyze your own habits – how often do you go to the restaurants closest to you? Now, imagine that the restaurant costs 200 for 2 people – how often do you think you will go?
“People are so god damn stupid – they think that just because they live NEAR something, that they are going to use it more often.”
I understand that your swimming pool has not worked out for you the way that you had hoped. Please let that frustration go.
“how often do you go to the restaurants closest to you?”
Prob average once a week (my wife more) to restaurants we walk to, including one of the two referenced places just a couple weeks ago and with my kid (no ice/snow though the wind was just a touch chilly).
” including one of the two referenced places just a couple weeks ago and with my kid”
Oh, so it was *your* well-behaved child’s mere presence that ruined my dinner. Thanks; I’ll be emailing Michelin with your details.
“definitely doesn’t have an urban feel to it at all”
“outskirts of logan sq”
Are we still talking about the subject property? This is essentially in the middle of the neighborhood and is very much urban. If this area isn’t urban what is it?
“I’ll be emailing Michelin with your details.”
Don’t think michelin takes complaints from residents of the nortcenter backwaters with its zero stars and bibs. Not urban at all.
Fortunately, Logan Square still has a pretty large selection of restaurants that are – cough – substantially more affordable.
And we absolutely frequent our local restaurants and bars on a regular basis, because, DUH, they’re close and quick & easy to get to. You also get a pretty amazing selection of places in these parts.
“Who the hell cares? People are so god damn stupid – they think that just because they live NEAR something, that they are going to use it more often. This is absolutely not true. Think about it – analyze your own habits – how often do you go to the restaurants closest to you? Now, imagine that the restaurant costs 200 for 2 people – how often do you think you will go?”
“Don’t think michelin takes complaints from residents of the nortcenter backwaters with its zero stars and bibs. Not urban at all.”
Just because Michelin doesn’t have any idea where 4111 N Lincoln is, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
“Just because Michelin doesn’t have any idea where 4111 N Lincoln is, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”
Skimmed too quickly. Crap. Speaking of which, I’ll amend to “nortcenter backwaters with its zero stars and most unappetizingly named resto with bib in the world”.
Getting back to the property at hand, the biggest negative for me would be no bathroom on one of the two above-grade floors, both of which have bedrooms.
“Is there somewhere in skokie where you’re walking distance to two different michelin starred restaurants, and many many other things? I know. It’s prob not true city living.”
“Upsacle” couples need to start saving money for retirement and not eating out every night. All the $$ dumped into conspicuous consumption should be for future, you are not going to be 30-40 forever.
“All the $$ dumped into conspicuous consumption should be for future, you are not going to be 30-40 forever.”
Yeah, and you might not live to see 50. People should do what they want.
““Upsacle” couples need to start saving money for retirement and not eating out every night.”
Nortcenter it shall be then. Good schools and forced savings to boot.
“Nortcenter it shall be then. Good schools and forced savings to boot.”
Oswego, my man, Oswego. Every night you can sit alone and talk and watch a hawk. Makes for *lots* of forced savings.
Heck, even if you’re a brain-dead slob, you’ll be given a cushy job!!
What’d I say? Oswego!
What’s it called? Oswego!!
““Is there somewhere in skokie where you’re walking distance to two different michelin starred restaurants, and many many other things? I know. It’s prob not true city living.””
wow many of you havent been to skokie have you, its not a michelin type of place but if your there stop by grecian kitchen or the japanese place on touhy & crawford
also new skokie swift stop on oakton popping up
“the japanese place on touhy & crawford”
V close, but not quite. Else logan gets to count everything in btown, which is the height of fun per Dan #2. But I’ll give you pita inn and ny bagels bialys. I kinda like oakton market too. So skokie is somewhere betwen logan and nortcenter on the D#2 urban scale.
“ny bagels bialys”
i go once a week its been a while and the parking always sucked, and pita is ok but there is wholy frijole right by the japanese place.
there is also a nice italian place, forgot the name, on oakton and lincoln somewhere by the chase bank
It’s back under contract again!
Back on the market and just reduced to $300k today. Listing says they got verbal approval from bank for short sale price. Seems like a pretty good deal at that price.
“Seems like a pretty good deal at that price.”
Agreed. I can start to look past the cosmetic/layout issues with a sub 300K price… especially given the gigantic lot and great location with proximity to Palmer Square, Milwaukee Ave and the California Blue.
Closed today for $320k.
320k seems reasonable.
“Originally listed in January 2010 for $550,000”
LOL its funny people continue to list their property at peak or premium to peak prices. It really shows how incompetent they are at valuing their own asset. What ever went through this owner’s head in January 2010 to make them think they could find a fool to sell this at a 57% premium to peak pricing, despite the market having move substantially away from peak pricing in the four years since. Absolutely clueless. And just think how many of them are out there.